Sponslandschap

One of the most crucial and growing problems in Flanders is water scarcity. There is an urgent need to strike a balance between people and water. The shift from ‘water as something you want to get rid of’ to ‘water as a precious commodity’ must be made urgently. The ‘sponge landscape’ concept offers an innovative solution: a landscape that absorbs water during wet periods and releases it again during droughts.

Jitte Jansen


Jitte Jansen

Within this project, Zwartberg in Genk is approached as a pilot area in which the Nieuwe Kempen neighborhood and the adjacent landscape of Hengelhoef are gradually being transformed into a Sponge Landscape. This is a design study consisting of two parts: on the one hand, a landscape and urban intervention, and on the other hand, an architectural intervention. Together, these form an integrated response to today’s water challenges and mark a first step in the spatial transition to a water-conscious Zwartberg.

The first phase involves tackling the surrounding landscape. The area will be redesigned according to the principles of a sponge landscape, where water collection and delayed drainage are key. Four specific strategies will be applied, each with its own role in regulating, buffering, and purifying the water: infiltrating buffer zone, landscape wadi, water meadow, and helophyte filters.

Jitte Jansen


Jitte Jansen


Jitte Jansen

Following the redevelopment of the surrounding landscape, the second and third phases will follow: the gradual transformation of the Nieuwe Kempen neighborhood. This neighborhood will be transformed into a rain-resistant and water-conscious neighborhood, where blue-green structures will play a central role.

In the fourth and final phase of the project, landscape, neighborhood, and people come together in an integrated whole. Central to the design is a Sponge Landscape Center. This place functions as an educational and participatory center, where visitors are actively involved in the management and understanding of the landscape through actions, research, and experience.

The project provides an example of how we can deal with the challenges of drought, water stress, and climate change in other places in Flanders and beyond. It is a call to action and a step toward a future in which humans coexist with water rather than dominating or ignoring it.

Jitte Jansen


Jitte Jansen


Jitte Jansen

Jitte Jansen


Jitte Jansen


Jitte Jansen