The NEXT Architects Hoge Blekker watchtower has been the winner of a contest run by the Municipality of Koksijde and the Province of West-Vlaanderen and Westtoer. This tower, named after the highest dune in the region, is one of the watchtowers that will be made as part of the Horizon 2025 program. The initiative seeks to activate the tourist attraction on the Belgian coast and emphasize the experience of the landscape in the regions tourist.

The Tower designed by NEXT Architects is understood from three interrelated elements: first, a helical staircase that transports up to a platform 20 meters high, getting a good view of the horizon. During the climb, the path is covered with vertical wooden slats, which generate lights and shadows and partially cover the panoramic only until you reach the top, where you can enjoy the landscape in its entirety. This dichotomy between open and closed during the journey and when reaching the height limit refinery the experience of the tower itself and the landscape.
 

Description of project by NEXT Architects

How do you create a touristic landmark that catches people’s attention whilst fluidly merging with the surroundings? Connecting landscape and landmark formed a basis for the winning design by NEXT architects for the Hoge Blekker, a watchtower on the Belgian coast. The competition was run by the Municipality of Koksijde, the Province of West-Vlaanderen and Westtoer to emphasise the experience of the landscape in the touristic regions. Hoge Blekker is one of the watchtowers that will be realised as part of the programme Horizon 2025.

The watchtower gets its name from the Hoge Blekker in Koksijde, the highest dune of the Belgian coast. A helix-shaped staircase leads visitors up to a platform at a height of 20 meters to experience the view of the horizon. The way up is closed by the wooden lamellae, which partially shroud the view on the landscape; on the top of the tower the view can be enjoyed in its full glory. This play between open and closed, extrovert and introvert, reinforces the experience of the landscape and of the tower itself.

The Major of Koksijde Marc Van den Bussche is proud of the design:

“Paris has the Eiffel Tower and Koksijde has the Hoge Blekker. For residents and tourists, this is going to become the icon and the landmark of our city.”

This watchtower fits within a unique series of landmarks and follies by NEXT architects. Amongst these are: the award-winning Elastic Perspective in Barendrecht, nearby Rotterdam, which is entirely made out of weathering steel, and the mysterious It Goddeloas Fiersicht in the Northern Dutch Province of Friesland, made of concrete blocks.  The Hoge Blekker is made almost entirely of slender wooden beams that together form a constructive unit. For the tower’s construction NEXT is collaborating with Miebach Consulting, a German engineering office that specialises in the use of wood as a construction material.

The tensions between landscape and landmark, between integrated and autonomous, between movement and stillness, and between past and present are made visible in the Hoge Blekker watchtower. The design builds upon the history of the place, the identity and experience of the dunes.

 

 

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Architects
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NEXT Architects
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Completion
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Horizon 2025
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Team
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Marijn Schenk, Bart Reuser and Michel Schreinemachers with Jorn Kooijstra, Jouke Sieswerda, Lisette Janssen and Marta Lata
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Client
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Municipality of Koksijde, the Province of West-Vlaanderen and Westtoer
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Type
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Watchtower
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Location
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Koksijde / BE
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Collaborator
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Miebach Consulting
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Size
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20 meters
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Material
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Wood
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NEXT architects is an international architectural firm, founded by Bart Reuser, Marijn Schenk, Michel Schreinemachers and John van de Water in 1999, who has worked on research and design projects in the field of urban planning, architecture, interior design, infrastructure. NEXT architects is located in Amsterdam. In 2004, NEXT opened a second office in Beijing, China.

In recent years, NEXT has demonstrated its ability to carry out large and complex projects commissioned by provinces, municipalities, and private clients such as COD, Amvest, Lingotto, and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. 

NEXT has received various awards for its work, including the Nationale Bouwprijs (2017), the NRP Gulden Feniks (nomination, 2017), the Geurt Brinkgrevebokaal (nomination, 2016), and the Dutch Design Award (nomination, 2016). NEXT has also been featured in various national and international publications and media including WIRED, Monocle, Financial Times, Het Financieele Dagblad, Elsevier, and CNN.
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Published on: June 4, 2018
Cite: "NEXT architects wins the Hoge Blekker Watchtower competition" METALOCUS. Accessed
<http://www.metalocus.es/en/news/next-architects-wins-hoge-blekker-watchtower-competition> ISSN 1139-6415
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