Model homes: EVA-Lanxmeer, sustainable urbanism

A few weeks ago I attended a seminar on sustainability in urbanism. I don't often attend such meetings; mostly because of the platitudes and generalizations one is presented with and the endless discussion on details. Personally I feel sustainability shouldn't be discussed but must simply be a part of everyday considerations concerning the built-up environment. The seminar focused on the way in which a bottom-up approach has been successful in shaping and maintaining the EVA-Lanxmeer development in the town of Culemborg on the river Lek in the middle of the Netherlands. There was a lot of talk about nature, natural processes, environmental impact, sustainability and participation. The social aspect was far more interesting than the technical workings of passive heating, solar boilers, re-used building materials, vegetation roofs and solar panels. The fact that residents and initiators were present and walked with us through the neigbourhood, explaining the concept along the way, made all the difference.

The estate has been planned by the prospective residents who own their own houses and have shared ownership of the communal spaces (gardens and playgrounds). The residents are also responsible for the upkeep of both the communal areas but also of the public green space such as orchards, ditches, grassland, ponds and hedgerows. The maintenance is done by volunteers and a paid landscape gardener. The ecological housing estate also includes an urban farm. Although no reference is made to this in the name, the organization and underlying concept of this housing estate closely follows the original ideas of Ebenezer Howard on self-reliant garden cities.

Being surrounded by this type of architecture set in lush gardens I certainly did not have the idea of walking around in a Dutch polder. The housing estate reminded me very strongly of Germany. Later I discovered the estate was planned by the residents aided by a Dutch team of urban designers and the German architect Joachim Eble.

Many residents opted to build their own house (something quite uncommon in the Netherlands) by using a Scandinavian method of timber framed houses that are constructed offsite according to individual needs and wishes. From the outside they look fairly similar. But again you don't get the feel of being in the Netherlands.

Roses are red

It's always worthwhile waiting for the roses to start flowering. The cold start seems to have given them an extra sense of urgency to unfold their blooms.

Leopoldsburg and Kamp Beverlo, the army camp that grew a town

Apart from a few monumental buildings the town of Leopoldsburg isn't very esthetically pleasing. The buildings were never built according to an overarching plan or vision, only the layout of streets was predetermined. This has led to a hotchpotch of building styles very common in Belgium. Many buildings are merely constructed and are visibly not designed. This makes for a great variety but also gives the impression of unordered private initiative. The links between the town grid and military camp have been well executed. The neighbouring Kamp Beverlo is totally different. Both layout and buildings have been designed along certain principles and a lot of thought has gone into placement of the volumes. The military camp is very leafy and spacious with buildings and monuments dotted about, often on sightlines, giving the impression of a park. 

 

The station has been built on the extended central axis of the Kamp Beverlo grid. The yellow colour contrast greatly with the surrounding brick built buildings. With the sun bouncing of it, it's even visible from the edge of the military camp.

 

An aggressive looking lion crowns the war memorial in front of the city hall on the very spacious Astridplein, a rectangular square named in honour of Queen Astrid of Belgium (1905-1935). On the extended axis of the town grid a memorial chapel has been built, it forms the centre of the honorary military cemetery on the edge of the royal park.

 

This convent dominates the second square in Leopoldsburg. This large open space has been planted as a public garden and was named Koning Albert I plein in honour of Albert I King of the Belgians (1875-1934). The complex has been built around the first church of Leopoldsburg.

The royal park lies at the heart of Kamp Beverlo and functions as the urban park of the adjoining town of Leopoldsburg. It was clearly designed in a mixed style with naturalistic planting and undulating paths within a framework of vistas and formal avenues. Next to where the royal palace once stood the pavilion of the Minister of War still stands. It is hidden from view by some shrubs.

 

This eclectic building (1869) inspired by Bavarian and Japanese architecture is situated on the edge of the royal park. It is known as the pavilion of the Commander of the Royal Engineers. As that name suggests it was meant to be an ornamental building within the royal park. It is still in use.

 

The military camp has several large monuments placed on its long tree lined avenues. On the left the Tacambaro Monument (1867) commemorating the battle of the same name, fought in Mexico by Belgian troops as part of the French army on April 14 1865. Leopold's daughter Charlotte was married to Maximilian King of Mexico. The monument shows the emblematic eagle with the snake, a symbol for Mexico. On the right the monument placed on the central axis of the royal palace on the edge of the parade ground commemorates General Pierre Emanuel Chazal (1808-1892) who played an important part in the independence of Belgium both as a politician and a military officer. He also designed the army camp of Beverlo.

The parade ground was formerly known as La place du canon (Canon Square), named after the alarm canon placed here in 1837. After the Great War the name was changed to the current Zegeplaats (Victory Place). It is sometimes also referred to as Overwinningsplaats (Triumph Place).

Spread along the avenues large houses were built for officers of the Belgian armed forces. The early houses are places as pavilion in a park like setting. These buildings are always detached villas in an eclectic style. Two examples can be seen here. Later buildings (after 1918) are semidetached en more formally placed in rows along tree lined streets.

The whole of the Kamp Beverlo is very spacious with long tree lined avenues, woodland and the occasional building. On the eastside the military barracks for ordinary soldiers are still located behind high fences. The rest of the military camp serves as a large park to the inhabitants of the neigbouring town of Leopoldsburg.

Little known grids: Leopoldsburg

Civilians working at Beverlo Military Camp built small dwellings on the edges of the camp. Thus the hamlet of Boskant came into existence. It was located on both sides of the Korteketenbrug (literally: small chain bridge) across the Bosbeek, a small brook on the edge of the heath. This was the old route via dirt tracks to the heath from Beverlo. With so many young men concentrated at close proximity this hamlet by the army camp quickly became the domicile of prostitutes, "cabaret" performers and innkeepers. North of the royal park with its pavilions for high-ranking officers, ministers and other officials settlers were allowed to build dwellings. These consisted mainly of wood, straw and sods. Some took the form of log cabins reminiscent of the American Wild West. This makeshift village was nicknamed Hureldorp after General Hurel who had allowed these settlers to build their huts and cabins.

The situation was seen as less than favourable with prostitutes and amusement on the one side and paupers and low skilled workers on the other side of the camp. In 1841 the architect V. Bourg is asked to design a new settlement for civilians on a 26 hectare (104 acre) plot west of the Kamp Beverlo. In 1842 the people living in the huts were forcibly relocated to the planned town of Bourg-Léopold. It would take until 1932 before this new Flemish town got its official Dutch name: Leopoldsburg*. In 1843 a small church was erected just outside of the Beverlo Military Camp. This was to be the focal point of the new town here. In 1906 a much larger church was erected south of the town. The small old church was first used as warehouse and from 1924 onwards as the congregational chapel of the Sisters Carmelite who were invited to found a convent in the town. In 1850 the first mayor is elected. This former sergeant major committed himself to the development of the town by lobbying for a shipping channel (1857-Kanaal van Beverlo), a railway connection (1887), establishing schools, paving the streets and improving public health.

The original layout of Leopoldsburg is very simple and was aimed at providing a ordered settlement enhancing the neighbouring Kamp Beverlo. It was connected to al the new thoroughfares via the army camp. It wasn't until the end of the nineteenth century that the army camp was reached from the north via the town. When the army camp was established a new metalled road (Diestersteenweg) was constructed to the existing village of Heppen in the west. A similar straight road (the Hechtelsesteenweg) linked the camp to Hechtel. This road forms the Via Principalis of the army camp. It was extended to form the central axis of the town of Leopoldsburg. With these new roads the route via the Korteketenbrug and Boskant became obsolete.

The town grid of Leopoldsburg is independent from the grid of the neighbouring Beverlo Military Camp. The old town consisted of 8 gridcels devided into 12 (shown in red). Along the Diestersteenweg a second grid (shown in orange) was laid out on the other side of the railway.

The town Leopoldsburg comprises of a grid with two squares. The gridlines are extensions of the neigbouring military camp (Kamp Beverlo). Later on the grid is extended northwards and westward behind the railway tracks. De military camp is also extended behind the church beyond the main axis of the town. Town and military camp were constructed according to plans drawn up by baron Chazal and colonel Demanet.

The formalized grid of Leopoldsburg consists of several axes.

The grid of Leopoldsburg was formalized by erecting public buildings on the axes of the grid. All these buildings except the station building (S) are situated along the secondary axis that links the formal squares. Of these the Koningin Astridplein (A) is treated as the main square with the town hall (T) dominating the space. In front of it the war memorial (W) is positioned next to the secondary axis. The second public space is a green square with the old church (C) built on the axis of the grid. It now forms part of the convent that dominates the whole eastside of this square. The new church (N) is located beyond the old town grid with the tower terminating the secondary axis. The post office (P) terminates the southernmost gridline of the old town grid. This axis was executed as a double avenue. The statue of Christ (X) in the corner of the green square was chosen as the focal point for the second grid beyond the rail tracks.  The railway station terminates the Via Principalis of both town and army camp.

* Although the language of the Flemish people was a Dutch dialect, the language spoken by the elite, officials and also the king was French. French was considered the only appropriate language by the nobility. Leopold I thus spoke German and French. Most official terminology in the early years of the independent Belgium was in French only. This sowed the seeds for the language struggle still in existence in present-day Belgium.