Grote Markt, Hasselt
Redevelopment of the Grote Markt into an inviting central square
Over the years, the Grote Markt of Hasselt had lost its allure unnoticed. The square was not very large, and was therefore fragmented by a street, various outdated materials, unfortunate street furniture and terrace constructions that demanded too much space and attention. To give the centre a new impulse, the city council developed an ambitious master plan for the entire city centre: Grote Markt, Havermarkt, Kapelstraat, Kortstraat, Hoogstraat, Kleine Maastrichterstraat. She kept out car traffic and provided new terrace constructions against the facades of the catering buildings, so that space was freed up centrally.
Our Public Space team was tasked with developing the outlines of the master plan into a fully-fledged (preliminary) design and supervising the works in progress. We absorbed the difference in height of the Grote Markt itself, designed terrace constructions and street furniture, and carried out underground measurements for the sewerage system and connections of water and electricity.
Our design was based on a tabula rasa: we literally erased the entire layout and replaced it with a uniform layout – with one paving material and strategically placed benches on one side of the square. In this way, the Grote Markt was reduced back to its essence: a place to relax and meet. A place that functions as a benchmark in the city center.
The car-free zones were completely paved with natural stone to make the identity and legibility of the market square tangible. For traffic zones, we provided a row runner in washed concrete. In this way, it is immediately clear to road users where their place is in the public domain.
