Retrofitting Suburban Settlements. A project for Limburg

Abstract

One of the rising challenges for architects is to rethink the future of suburban territories built through the repetition of the detached single-family house. If until the 90’s the suburbs offered an attractive way of life, today many suburban territories arein demographic and economic decline. The province of Limburg in Flanders (Belgium) is a clear example of such condition. The article illustrates a design-research project that aimed at rethinking this suburban territory as a place where new generations could live and work. By reflecting on the historical circumstances that led to the construction of this suburban region, on the recent transformations of domestic space, and on the potential of landscape resources to restructure sprawling territories, the proposal becomes a wider case through which to start rethinking the condition of living and working in the contemporary city.