Together on one building plot

Development project Zilverlaan, Ostend

On the outskirts of Ostend are several large, vacant lots that the City of Ostend hopes to convert into a high-quality housing development, without parcelling out the entire area. Project developer Condor and social housing corporation WoonWel were asked to propose a suitable alternative. They decided on developing two-thirds of the site and convert the rest into a green parkland. The planning permission procedure is still pending (2019).

As was commissioned by the developer, Bovenbouw Architecten designed a complex consisting of both terraced houses and apartments surrounding a car-free, shared courtyard. All of the houses have their own private garden or terrace. A gated wall surrounding the complex creates a clear division between buildings and landscape. The designers want to create a living space in which toddlers can play in their own gardens, young children can play on the common grounds, and teens can enjoy themselves on the sports park behind the complex. Within this design, the developer explored the possibility of adding additional shared facilities, such as shared parking, rainwater storage, a common room etc. A similar project is being developed on the other lot with social housing designed by ampe.trybou architecten. Cluster landschap en stedenbouw, specialising in architectural landscaping, is overseeing the entire project to ensure that it complements the surrounding landscape as much as possible.