Bampslaan - Field

A new crossing for pedestrians and cyclists cuts straight through the building block, while the building line steps back by an average of five metres. This opens up new perspectives for the Bampslaan and the Station square, with extra green to improve the quality of living.

The masterplan for the Bampslaan in Hasselt, of which the B-Hive project is a part, aims to breathe new life into the fading station district. It works around three main themes. The first is to give the narrow pavements more room, making space for generous footpaths, café terraces, trees and greenery. To achieve this, the building line is pulled back, not as a single straight line but as a zigzag. This creates a dynamic experience at street level, with intriguing views as well as deliberately framed and blocked perspectives.

The second theme is to make the building blocks permeable by adding passages for cyclists and pedestrians. This also raises the quality of the inner areas. High-quality buildings in the second line become possible, and the courtyards themselves are given a reason to be intensively planted and renatured, turning what were often leftover spaces into green and liveable places.

The third theme concerns the building volumes. The plan favours shallower but taller volumes, freeing up space for good outdoor areas, whether public, semi-private or private. Building upwards does not mean one continuous wall. Instead, carefully chosen height accents are placed to create engaging urban perspectives and to ensure good sunlight in the inner areas.