Masterplan city district 4 Fonteinen Vilvoorde
Masterplan and visual quality plan for a new urban district. 4 Fonteinen transforms a semi-industrial fringe into a fully-fledged urban district. Sustainability, landscape, and mobility form the design framework for a car-free, mixed-use, and child-friendly neighborhood along the Zenne River.
- Client
- Vilvoorde Development NV
- Location
- Vilvoorde
- Partners
- Urban Platform + EVR architecten
Sustainability Project in Vilvoorde and Brussels
The project is the result of a constructive collaboration between the developer Vilvoorde Development, the City of Vilvoorde, and the Vlaamse Waterweg, along with the study team Buur/Urban Platform/EVR architects. The development plan builds upon the previously established visions for this area. The team was responsible for creating new guidelines to shift the “business as usual” model towards a sustainable and future-proof development. The Sustainability Meter for Neighbourhoods tool serves as a foundation that supports the process and guides design choices.
New Neighborhood with Clear Ambitions and Sustainable Mobility
What was seen a few years ago as a gray semi-industrial periphery at the border between Brussels and Vilvoorde will become a dense and vibrant urban area. This new neighborhood is taking shape based on clear ambitions: 4 Fonteinen will not be an isolated island but a fully-fledged urban district with buildings that allow flexible use, strengthen the underlying ecosystem, restore the Zenne as a landscape feature, become car-free and invest in sustainable mobility, and transform into a child-friendly area with spaces for greenery and social interaction.
Unique Quality of Valley Areas in Vilvoorde
Characteristic of valley areas, the site is marked by the presence of dominant north-south infrastructures. A cross-section of the site reveals a diverse succession of environments, ranging from metropolitan to local scales. We consider this condition a unique quality that we aim to enhance. We are investigating how these different systems structure the site, their current roles, and their potential in future urban expansion. The structural vision outlines the framework for developing the layout plan. The image quality plan describes the desired qualities and atmospheres of the various public spaces and sets the guidelines for architecture.
