The team of Carve and OMGEVING (design) and Krinkels (contractor) won the international competition to design an adventurous play-scape and landmark on a ‘terril‘ in Beringen, Belgium, in January 2015. The adventure mountain is part of the touristic, recreative project be-MINE, that aims to breathe new life into the monumental coal-mining site in Beringen, the largest industrial-archeological site in Flanders. The former mining city asked to add new function to the 60 meter high rubble mountain, and to redevelop the old industrial buildings into a cultural hotspot where its history can be experienced in a playful way.
The spectacular scale of this site – regarding both the height of the terril as well as its industrial heritage – is unique in the relatively flat surrounding landscape of Limburgian-Flanders. The intervention is a landmark on a large scale, but through its playable character it also reflects the small scale of a child. The values of the industrial heritage have been a continuous leading theme in the design process that resulted in an unprecedented playscape. The mining ‘terril’ has been given a new meaning, rooted in both the past and the future. The design consists of three parts, that create a unity with the mountain and its past: a pole forest as a landmark, an adventurous prismatic play surface on the flank of the mountain and a coal square on the top of the ‘terril’. The spine of the ensemble is a straight stairs that provides access to all levels. At night, a light line along the stairs makes the topography of the terril visible.
The master plan of the entire site of the adventure mountain was put up by Antea.
