1010 Architecture Urbanism

Just like most Belgian schools, the playgrounds of the primary school ‘De Plataan’ and the secondary school ‘GTSM’ were little more than large concrete surfaces. With the support of the Flemish government, the municipality of Merchtem decided to depave its school patrimony, and after a competition procedure, 1010 was commissioned to develop it’s ideas to a realistic project. The final design was developed in a process where children and teenagers, school staff, parents and neighbours were engaged in a co-creation process. This helped us to understand their dreams and functional concerns, meanwhile we studied the hydrological qualities of the soil, with the help of infiltration tests. Halfway the design process, we installed a test-site of 7x7m, where kids could try out some configurations and different permeable materials were tested. In the final project, we managed to realize some innovative concepts such as a shared playground next to the street; depending on the time of the day this zone is either accessible to the school or the neighbourhood. The flat concrete playground was transformed into an adventurous hilly playscape, with a multitude of textures, smells and edible plants. An aquaduct with a cascade transports the rainwater to a cistern, the water can be pumped up and used in a water table, to finally infiltrate in the soil. The playground of the toddlers was formerly a genuine heat island and is now transformed into a green garden with a variation of playing environments, from active to more quiet zones. In the choice of materials, atmosphere and circularity were key goals. The existing concrete tiles were 100% re-used to build the edges of the playscapes and planting areas. The existing soil was as much as possible re-used on site and newly brought materials are mainly locally sourced. The steel blue fences and aquaduct create a strong visual identity from the first day on; but in a couple of years when the plants reach their adult volume, the green will take over…