anzegem
The municipality of Anzegem, situated in the province of West Flanders, required a series of operations with a major territorial impact: a five-hectare business park, a new residential area of four hectares for 60 new dwellings, the extension of the existing sports complex with a considerable number of new fields and courts, a dog training school and an equestrian centre. Added to these requirements were doubts about the possible construction of a ring road to prevent heavy through traffic in the town centre, for which various alternative studies had been carried out.
The operation is situated in the north-west sector of the municipal territory, next to the present-day sports zone and bordering on an area of evident natural and landscape values. The need to accommodate this mixed brief coherently, using a system to allow the logical future development of the municipality and enable a flexible management model, was the context guiding the proposal.
The layout of the proposed ring road is adjusted to avoid unnecessary constraints or the appearance of residual fragments of land. A careful study of topography further served to ensure zero visual and acoustic impact on the immediate surroundings. Nonetheless, the arrangement proposed for the new elements in the town enables their development without the prior construction of the ring road.
The business park is implanted on the north of the site, minimizing the distance from the E17 motorway, just a few kilometres away. The residential development, conversely, “naturally” extends the fabric situated between Korte Winterstraat and Nieuwpoortstraat, adopting the urban grain and the typologies of the context.
The areas for the dog training school and the riding centre are introduced adjacent to the extension to the sports complex, together acting as a buffer between the residential fabric and the prospective new ring road. To the south of this road, a green structure is blended into the existing landscape to create a filter of plant matter between it and scattered dwellings in the south of the municipality.
The overall operation engages with the existing town, using its own structure and paths and minor roads to configure a network of paths and cycle lanes that promotes sustainable mobility to make the territory more accessible.