OOSTERHOUT PUBLIC SPACE

Although Market Place is Oosterhout’s oldest public space, over time its use has been reduced to that of a car park. The council initiated a design competition – the brief being to transform it into a pedestrian zone and to include ample space for a variety of events. A professional jury shortlisted three schemes from which this was selected as the overall winning design by means of a referendum.

The space is dominated by the Basilica of St John, which is taller, more expansive and considerably more ornate than the adjoining townhouses. The proposed blue-grey paving matches the tone of the slate roof of the neo-Gothic church and thus provides an enhanced experience of the market elevations.

Street furniture and trees are set along the pedestrian routes that traverse the triangular space, loosely delineating a range of domains within the larger space.

In collaboration with Marjan van Herpen.