The borough of Niel is in Antwerp Province near the confluence of the rivers Rupel and Scheldt, covers an area of 527 ha and has 10,200 inhabitants. An increase in its population necessitates additional housing. For this purpose, the local authority has opted to develop a space in the interior of a street block close to the village centre.

This infill area is 1.35 ha in size and lies between Antwerpsestraat, Kerkstraat and Dorpsstraat. Until a few years ago, this space was almost completely occupied by a shoe factory and a school. In this enclosed space, the local authority now wishes to build a new library, social housing units for seniors and additional private housing closely interwoven with a green public space in accordance with the RUP.

In the first instance, the local authority wants to have a master-plan drawn up for this infill area. The master-plan should define the urban planning structure and indicate the desired visual quality of the buildings and the public space. In the master-plan should be paid special attention to the various local roads, the penetrability of the street block and the green nature of the enclosed area, which will benefit the quality of life in the inner area.

De Ideale Woning is giving the design team the task of implementing the first stage of the master-plan. This may include the construction of the social housing units for seniors. The number of private dwellings and possible other elements will be laid down in the master-plan.

The principal is looking for a design team that can develop a master-plan for the site that is based on its existing qualities and which is sufficiently flexible to respond to the various developments in the neighbourhood. In addition, the design team should be able to create architectural quality on the scale of the area and should be capable of defining architectural quality in terms of preconditions for future developments (private or otherwise). The design team that is selected will assist the principal in setting out the development process and providing an insight into the financial figures that the master-plan involves. The design team will provide support to the communication and participation agency that is to be appointed.