OFFICE 71

In contrast to the rest of the Flemish landscape, which is completely occupied, the area around Watou, near the border with France, maintains a distinct spatial structure. Strategy for a Lost Landscape, developed with Bas Smets, recognises the existing square farms as an alternative settlement model to villages, which typically develop along roads, keeping the landscape in the back invisible. This hypothesis of densifying square farms was illustrated by several types – the castle, the cloister, the industrial unit – always positioned according to the existing infrastructure and flooding zones. The project proposes an alternative to Flemish field development, while accepting its field condition.