Leefbuurt Ottenburg

Commissioned by the Municipality of Huldenberg and guided by the Vlaamse Bouwmeester, Plant en Houtgoed and 1010au developed a spatial vision for Ottenburg, a key village node strategically located between Brussels, Leuven, and the Wavre-Nord economic zone.

Identified in the Bouwmeesterscan as a growth centre with potential for densification, the project is structured around three core principles (1) Active mobility, (2) Public space and liveability and (3) Greening and depaving.

These are translated into five ambitions: traffic safety, an attractive village core, intergenerational inclusion, quality youth infrastructure, and a distinctive local identity. The spatial strategy integrates five pillars: accessibility, proximity, aesthetics, ecology, and participatory process.

Green space renewal becomes the catalyst for a resilient village fabric, embedding climate adaptation and ecological connectivity. Hard surfaces are carefully scaled to balance circulation with infiltration capacity and vegetation development.

The central square is reimagined as a multifunctional community hub, radiating connections to the church garden, surrounding streets, and the Leuvensebaan. The pastorietuin becomes a soft, inclusive public space for informal gatherings, while the church garden is reshaped as a tranquil space with strong ecological integration.

The football field is reprogrammed as a dual-purpose green infrastructure—supporting school expansion and introducing new housing typologies in a park-like setting, calibrated for biodiversity, passive recreation, and climate performance.

A continuous network of active travel routes links all green areas into an ecologically coherent system. The result is a living, adaptive village landscape where spatial planning, nature, and community coalesce into a future-proof rural model.