Herne is a rural municipality in the southwest of Flemish Brabant. It is part of the Pajottenland. The municipality is characterized by a rolling landscape with three village centers, held together by ribbon buildings that overlook the extensive, extensive agricultural landscape behind. In the middle of the meadows and fields are several stream valleys.

In 2019, the municipality had a promotional vision drawn up for the future in which a medium-term development strategy was laid down. Particular attention was paid to creating high-quality public space tailored to pedestrians, in order to increase the quality of stay and support local trade.

Today, four years later, the city council wants to go a step further by having a vision paper with layout plans drawn up with a view to connecting the different parts of the public domain into a coherent whole. The interior must be able to withstand the future climate and must transform the current grey village centre into a pleasant meeting place with more greenery.

The project area (+-30,000m² - see photos) today consists of several individual, adjacent parts without any coherence, in particular:

- the Marke valley site, a former school complex

- the Kaatsplein, which is also used as a parking lot for the town hall

- the centre

- the cemetery around the church

- heroes' square, with war memorial

- the stone road.

In addition to the development plans, the municipality wants a complete study assignment (design up to and including implementation) for the center and the Marke valley site.

The center of Herne has a diverse use. In addition to the classic parking function, there is a market every Wednesday and the fairs, annual market and other events are also organized here. In 2022, the municipality bought the last catering business (a café with two banquet halls), which will be given in concession later this year. The beautification of the village centre is considered a priority policy objective, taking into account current and future activities. Sufficient budget is provided for a completely new infrastructure, including greenery, street furniture, a village terrace, ...

The project for the Marke valley site, on the other hand, is part of a subsidy from the Flemish government (Blue Deal) and aims to design a village park in which aspects such as biodiversity, greening, denudation and meeting are central. The municipality will demolish the old school buildings at the beginning of 2024, so that the future designer can start from a vacant site with an area of 1.6 ha. With a view to a more efficient parking policy, a central car park will be provided on the Marke valley site. In this way, parking spaces in the center and on the kaatsplein can make way for greenery or meeting.

To achieve this, the municipality is looking for a motivated design team with fresh and innovative ideas, and with knowledge and experience in the field of landscape architecture and design of public space. The designers are expected to pay attention to:

- the development scenario approved by the municipality in 2019. This consists of a ten-step plan to organize the public space as efficiently as possible, but does not contain any statements about the concrete design.

- the durability of the chosen materials

-biodiversity

-meeting

- citizen participation

Herne is a rural municipality in the southwest of Flemish Brabant. It is part of the Pajottenland. The municipality is characterized by a rolling landscape with three village centers, held together by ribbon buildings that overlook the extensive, extensive agricultural landscape behind. In the middle of the meadows and fields are several stream valleys.

In 2019, the municipality had a promotional vision drawn up for the future in which a medium-term development strategy was laid down. Particular attention was paid to creating high-quality public space tailored to pedestrians, in order to increase the quality of stay and support local trade.

Today, four years later, the city council wants to go a step further by having a vision paper with layout plans drawn up with a view to connecting the different parts of the public domain into a coherent whole. The interior must be able to withstand the future climate and must transform the current grey village centre into a pleasant meeting place with more greenery.

The project area (+-30,000m² - see photos) today consists of several individual, adjacent parts without any coherence, in particular:

- the Marke valley site, a former school complex

- the Kaatsplein, which is also used as a parking lot for the town hall

- the centre

- the cemetery around the church

- heroes' square, with war memorial

- the stone road.

In addition to the development plans, the municipality wants a complete study assignment (design up to and including implementation) for the center and the Marke valley site.

The center of Herne has a diverse use. In addition to the classic parking function, there is a market every Wednesday and the fairs, annual market and other events are also organized here. In 2022, the municipality bought the last catering business (a café with two banquet halls), which will be given in concession later this year. The beautification of the village centre is considered a priority policy objective, taking into account current and future activities. Sufficient budget is provided for a completely new infrastructure, including greenery, street furniture, a village terrace, ...

The project for the Marke valley site, on the other hand, is part of a subsidy from the Flemish government (Blue Deal) and aims to design a village park in which aspects such as biodiversity, greening, denudation and meeting are central. The municipality will demolish the old school buildings at the beginning of 2024, so that the future designer can start from a vacant site with an area of 1.6 ha. With a view to a more efficient parking policy, a central car park will be provided on the Marke valley site. In this way, parking spaces in the center and on the kaatsplein can make way for greenery or meeting.

To achieve this, the municipality is looking for a motivated design team with fresh and innovative ideas, and with knowledge and experience in the field of landscape architecture and design of public space. The designers are expected to pay attention to:

- the development scenario approved by the municipality in 2019. This consists of a ten-step plan to organize the public space as efficiently as possible, but does not contain any statements about the concrete design.

- the durability of the chosen materials

-biodiversity

-meeting

- citizen participation