Laureate: FOREST, OD205

The study and design assignment for drawing up a master plan and a development plan for a reception site for the rose garden of the Coloma castle grounds in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw was awarded to the temporary association Forest, OD205 in collaboration with Met zicht op zee architecten en ontwerpers, Stefanie Delarue and Studio WLLMS. The team envisions a new, vibrant role for the Coloma domain in the fabric of Sint-Pieters-Leeuw and in the wider cultural-historical landscape around Brussels. The castle park will be a lively place dedicated to social innovation and education.

Building on the current character of the site, the team will use a solid urban development concept to reconnect the estate spatially and functionally with the village of Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, the Zenne and Zuun valleys and Brussels. The aim is to develop the estate into an attractive gateway to the Pajottenland, a starting or ending point for a visit to this region.

The design vision is based on three pillars: the castle domain will be an ecological estate dedicated to knowledge exchange, a scenographic estate where experience and co-creation are central and a productive estate where craftsmanship is paramount.

The designers approach the estate as a theatre, always with the rose as the central theme. A visual play with a focus on the castle is employed. A new multifunctional pavilion on one of the highest points of the estate, a connecting play ribbon, a footbridge, a woodland edge garden, a renewed, upgraded concept for the classic rose garden, a sustainable and inspiring orchard and interventions for a better ecological balance in the soil and water management system are the most striking ingredients. Solutions are being developed for parking, entrances, signage, lighting and logistics.

The design team develops a broad, sustainable and ecological approach through soil improvement, increasing biodiversity through intensification of forest edges, water management and a closed green waste cycle, among others. Together with the clarity of the concept, these are the elements that the assessment committee particularly appreciated.

An extensive interactive process of participation and co-creation is being set up with stakeholders to shape a widely supported transition into a master plan. They also wish to enable new partnerships with directors, who will help provide the estate's programming. In this way, the designers want the estate to flourish sustainably on a social, ecological and economic level.