MASTERPLAN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF 450 UNITS AROUND THE NEW RER-STATION IN WATERLOO | DIRECT COMMISSION FROM THE CLIENT
Two major events will drastically modify the city of Waterloo in the coming years. On the one hand the construction of a new RER station will – with its fast connection to Brussels – challenge the rather car-based mobility structure of the area. On the other hand, the regional request for higher density in new urban developments suggests a complete review of the dominant typology at play in the municipality.
It is precisely within this changing urban context that the project Fiat takes place. Located within 400m walking distance from the future station, the 10 hectares site welcomes a new school, a sport centre, 450 housing units and various supporting functions.
In reaction to the specificities of the adjacent contexts, the site is divided in 3 zones : the forest and its clearings, the bands of trees and their mews, the fields and their yards. In accordance with the typology it welcomes – respectively point blocks, row houses and courtyard houses -, each of these parts offers a specific way of living. In all cases, special attention is paid to the orientation of the units and a sequenced and carefully designed transition is established between the public and the private domain.
The 3 zones are organized around the main valley. The latter constitutes the landscaped arteria of the new neighbourhood. It also technically contributes – by means of various wetlands – to its ecological performance.