Blaricummermeent

Karres en Brands is responsible for the urban design of the urban development plan for 129 homes within the office B+B designed Blaricummermeent master plan. The plan is an interpretation of the village-like living environment of old Blaricum. The landscape platform will be determined by a structure of individual land plots with a mixture of typologies and subdued variations in the architecture. An exception to the individual plots are three collective domains. These have been designed to vary in form and dimension; further adding special typologies to the location. 

A network of narrow footpaths on the inner sides of the housing blocks creates routes between the separate gardens and the collective domains. The design of the public space has an informal village feel: narrow streets of brick cobbles are bordered by various types of hedges and deep front gardens. The character of the space continues to be strengthened with a large number of trees and a diversity of building alignments and roof shapes. Each architect has designed a personal ‘family’ of house types, which are spread across the location. The architecture makes reference to the existing typologies in Blaricum, so that the interplay between hedges and roofs defines the area’s visual identity. A special feature of the plan is that residents will become the collective owners of the courtyards, play areas and housing. Thus influencing and contributing to the creation of a tight-knit community.