The local Bluestone, supplied by Carrières du Hainaut, was used
The square by the railway station in the Belgian town of Berlaar was a place without a face for the longest time: during the day, fully parked with cars interspersed with a few pop-up stands. Business people in the neighbourhood had been complaining about it for a long time. Finally, the municipality decided to gentrify the place and give it a new identity.
The Antwerp branch of the international architecture firm Arcadis was chosen for the design, and they really did give the place a recognizable face: the paving over the entire area is very unusual, not only in the size of the natural stones used for it itself, but also in the pattern that clearly separates the individual areas visually.
The Belgian Bluestone was used, a hemic limestone better known under the name Petit Grait. It was supplied by the company Carrières du Hainaut.
Unlike your run-of-the-mill paving, here the individual stones consist of narrow straps 8 cm wide and 8 cm thick. Their length varies between 20, 30 and 40 cm.
The joints are filled with a special cement, so that the stones are firmly seated and at the same time thermal expansion is possible.
There are two surfaces: sawn and cleaved. They are irregularly distributed but ensure that the tread surface is non-slip.
Benches invite passers-by to linger and even recline or lie down. Of course, there is a decorative French-fries stand and a spacious and covered bicycle stand on the square. Berlaar is located in the Flemish part of Belgium, where the influence of the Dutch neighbors is very strong.
Potos: Arcadis
(26.07.2020, USA: 07.26.2020)
