Kijktoren Fondatie van Boudelo

From one of the pathways at the Fondatie van Boudelo, a superb nature reserve in Waasland, the walker can spy a dark-green, wooden watchtower through the trees and undergrowth. It stands amidst the shrubbery at an angle to the lane. A path entices the walker to stray from the route by several metres and to approach the entrance. Light seeps inside through the gaps between the planks of the walls and illuminates a staircase that winds up invitingly round the central column. The steps to the top already offer a number of views of the surrounding natural beauty. This is further facilitated by the pleasing horizontal orientation of the planks in certain parts of the walls. Yet the true reward is to be found at the top of the stairs: an impressive vista of fields, lakes, woods, birds and, if you are in luck, a herd of roe deer.

At first sight, the comprehensible construction of wooden beams, columns, wind-bracing and planks calls to mind a building in the local vernacular, a variant on the traditional agrarian architecture of the polder landscape. However, the precision of the construction reveals it to be far more resonant. The supporting structure and infill are not the successive layers of a building process, but are meticulously interwoven. The continuous vertical planks form a skin for the secluded interior, while the interplay of lines on the exterior transforms the construction into a visually striking object. Each of the diagonals just avoids the intersection of horizontals and verticals. The joint is in a subtle recess in the beam: a traditional woodworking joint which, despite the tight budget, was made possible by the contractor’s computer-controlled milling machine. Although it occupies a muted position in the landscape, this tower is an ode to building.

The modest brief for this watchtower was a rewarding project for the young firm Baeten Hylebos Architecten, who indicate that they design on the basis of details. Departing from an exercise in reticence, they seek an individual architectural identity for each project. At the same time, a rich architectural frame of reference lies behind the restraint with which the tower claims its place in the landscape.

- Petrus Kemme

This project is published in Flanders Architectural Review N°14. When Attitudes Take Form