The design for the Sion project comprises a set of interconnected streets and squares in the centre of Lier and consists of a diverse housing programme.
The site is located on the eastern side of Lier, bordering on the old ramparts, where two small rivers – the Grote Nete and the Kleine Nete – merge. It is a location where the water structures and soil conditions allowed hardly any building in the past.
From the top of the ramparts, a few metres above the surrounding land, the view of the countryside and the town centre is very open. The master plan here creates the link between the centre of Lier and the nature-based character of the ramparts and the Nete valley.
The design is characterised by a high degree of layering. The ‘urban’ scale is adopted from the town, while the countryside strengthens the relationship with the water. The banks are linked by a small pedestrian bridge, and the view of the countryside from the Classicist building that houses SASK (the visual arts academy) is retained. The scale of the medieval town is preserved in the rhythm of parallel strips perpendicular to the ramparts and linking the ramparts, the city gate and the Sion site.
The plan includes a number of small squares, linked to the existing squares in town like a string of pearls. The plan, playing with exciting short-cuts, special niches and closed perspectives, provides high-quality living quarters, play areas, et cetera.
