Erasmushof The Hague

The Erasmusveld in The Hague offers great opportunities for a unique and new living environment. The vision for the new neighbourhood is based on the themes 'healthy', 'urban' and 'living together'. The green character of the place, the strategic location in between other green areas in the city and the construction of an ecological corridor, are the reason for the creation of a robust green park with a collective character. There are two types of collective building blocks within the park: ''urban blocks'' and ''natural blocks''. To ensure a healthy and sustainable way of living in Erasmusveld, spatial and social sustainability, and flexibility are very important.

Flux proposes a collective residential park, where the human and natural habitat are optimally mixed. In and around the building blocks, an active park provides space for practicing sports, playing, vegetable gardens and meeting places. Plants and animals can be found in and alongside the water, in the wadis and constructed wetlands, and inside the hives attached to the buildings. The ecological corridor that passes the area, connects the park with a larger ecological network and has a natural and extensive character. The courtyards inside the building blocks are collective and have a closed and refined character.

The residential park has its own identity and can be recognized by an assemblage of coherent design elements: pathways with characteristic tiles and a family of rubust furniture, like seating elements, lights and trash cans. An important part of the park is the water garden. This element has both aesthetical values and high ecological values: the water plants in the garden clean the water and create ideal living conditions for fish and birds. The water garden is accessible by a wooden boardwalk over the water. The boardwalk is oriented towards the sun and provides a beautiful view over the water, the park and the water plants.

Den Haag, residential park, commissioned by BPD, first price design competition, i.c.w. marco.broekman and workshop, healthy city, circular, water storage, park design, public space, water garden, landscape architecture, Flux landscape architecture Utrecht, 2017