Fort Honswijk

HOP came in 2nd place with a proposal for the redevelopment of Fort Honswijk, one of the many forts along the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie. Together with our client, we created a spatial approach to transform the existing buildings and landscape within the fort into an interesting new destination within the Utrecht region. The new "Heldenfort" offers space for outdoor activities, a museum, a café with event space, a pop-up restaurant, group accommodations and even "bed and breakfast bunkers". The interventions proposed within the Heldenfort plan create new sightlines and connections between historically valuable structures and make the area pedestrian friendly. For example, passages are introduced within several existing buildings, creating views to the bunkers behind. By working with different forms of paving, different types of paths are introduced that open up the public and more private parts of the plan. Part of the existing paving makes way for greenery, reinforcing the originally green character of the fort and creating space for a vegetable garden and a play and activity field.The plan repurposes the existing buildings and strengthens the connection between them, making the fort a beautiful, fun and educational destination for young and old for decades to come.

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