Village Center Renewal 'Tuinen van Oppem'

With De Tuinen van Oppem, the municipality aims to revitalize the village center while strengthening public services for its residents. Inspired by BUUR’s quality framework, the ambition for a sustainable and future-oriented center development is translated into a tangible, human-scaled project. At the junction between the historic core and Wezembeek, a new centrality emerges, with the NAC, library, school, and a multipurpose hall clustered around a village square that brings together governance and community. A new green heart is created through two generous gardens — the Tuin van Straufhain and the Maalderstuin — designed as shared spaces for residents, schoolchildren, youth groups, and visitors. Carefully positioned sustainable housing reinforces both the landscape and the sense of community. The plan fits naturally into the existing urban fabric, bridging past and future, and creates a contemporary meeting place where architecture, landscape, and collective life converge. De Tuinen van Oppem is a 21st-century vision for village center development.