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Van Nispenpark · Hillegom, the Netherlands

A green jewel in Hillegom's renewed centre

From bulb fields to an active city park

 
 

The refurbishment of  Burgemeester van Nispenpark is the culmination of the renewal of Hillegom’s centre. In the last decades, the village has developed into an attractive place to stay due to its location and living environment. To further increase this attractiveness for the future, extra attention has been paid to the green public spaces, resulting in  Burgemeester van Nispenpark and earlier the Hoftuin, each one adding a specific character and quality to this  area of the city centre.

 
Location
Hillegom, the Netherlands
 
Year
2017 - 2020
 
Project area
3,5 ha
 
Client
Municipality of Hillegom
 
Collaboration
AW Groep, De Enk groen & Golk, Anet Scholma, Buro Mien Ruys
 
Photography credits
Jeroen Musch
 
 

An inviting tapestry of nature

Bugemeester van Nispenpark is an open and inviting 3.5-hectare park that fits in with the village and its surroundings. The design is based on the historical allotment of the local bulb fields. This is reflected in the design of the routing and planting.

Since Van Nispenpark had become isolated, closed off and cluttered over time, much attention was paid to increasing accessibility. Not only have the entrances been improved, new sight lines and open spaces have been added to contribute to the openness of the space. This has strengthened the historical structures and shifted the emphasis to the most valuable elements in and around the park.

 

A new functional water feature makes the park experience more pleasant and special, improving the water management in the central area, making this space  more climate adaptive. In addition, it enhances the experience of the park itself, the monumental St. Martinus church, and the entrance to the centre.

Creator of meaningful places
 

Additionally, wadis, nature-friendly banks, flower beds with bee and butterfly-friendly planting and bird-friendly shrubs and trees will further improve the biodiversity.. Thanks to the introduction of the water and new sight lines along the edge, a clearer and more striking transition has been made between the residential area and the central area. The monumental St. Martinus church has thereby acquired a more significant role in the park design. The surrounding area on the village side has a clearly designed character with contrasts and a graphic quality that mimics the bulb fields.

 
 
Creator of meaningful places

Active and attractive park

On the residential side, the park is relaxed with a more natural character. Here the park provides space for activities. Specific focus was directed on creating an active park, with plenty of space for cultural activities, sports and games.  A stage on the event field offers space for music, theatre and dance performances.

An additional attraction in the park is the Beatles Monument. This monument commemorates the first concert of The Beatles in the Netherlands in 1964 in a concert hall in Hillegom. This concert has gone down in history as ‘the forgotten performance’.

 
 
 

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