Domain Poeke

The proposal for the Poeke farm approaches the site not as an isolated intervention, but as a threshold between the castle domain, the surrounding grasslands and a broader educational, recreational and historical landscape. The ambition is to create meaningful visitor experiences while strengthening the ecological value of the place.

The project therefore starts from a simple position: preserve and reinforce the qualities already present, and allow nature, access and learning to support one another without overwhelming the site.

The existing farm has grown historically in an organic and fragmented way. As a result, the area around the stable and the caretaker’s house lacks a coherent spatial structure, while several past interventions have prioritised use over ecology.

The central design idea is clear: reintroduce the logic of a farmyard as a multifunctional landscape, while removing unnecessary hard surfaces and giving space back to nature. The renewed yard becomes the organising framework for the stable, caretaker’s house, field barn and occasional parking, while also supporting educational activities, workshops, market use and necessary functional access.

The project organises the site around a clear and accessible movement structure: the avenue and the loop form a readable circulation system for staff, emergency access and visitors, while also linking the farm to the wider Poeke domain.

At the centre of the yard, a series of natural pockets creates room for outdoor learning, workshops and informal play. The orchard, ecological kitchen garden and beehives provide a direct educational relationship to food, seasons and biodiversity. This is not an ornamental setting, but a working outdoor environment in which visitors can move through the landscape, around the buildings and across the farmyard as part of the experience.

Less Surface, More Ground

The intervention is deliberately restrained. Excessive paving is removed and replaced by a minimum of necessary functional surfaces. This reduction allows the site to recover spatial and ecological continuity. South of the meeting space and the pot stable, depaving creates room for the orchard, educational cultivation areas and a zone for outdoor activity.

A new wadi is introduced where the existing shed disappears, buffering rainwater and turning water management into part of the landscape logic. The project is robust not through built expression, but through clarity of organisation and long-term adaptability.

By removing hard surfaces and visual obstacles, the proposal strengthens the east–west relationship with the surrounding grasslands. The orchard, composed mainly of high-stem fruit trees, preserves long views while making the productive landscape accessible.

Soft paths extend through the orchard and along the tree lines towards the avenue, allowing visitors to continue from the farm deeper into the Poeke domain. The landscape becomes both a destination and a connective medium.