A striking blue beacon with a monumental profile along Dokter Edouard Moreauxlaan in Ostend is part of the city’s ambitious plans to transform the Oosteroever into a vibrant urban fabric. This district is struggling with an old problem: the busy Moreauxlaan forms a hard physical boundary between two separate worlds, the Port District with its industrial logic on the one hand and the Lighthouse District with its residential logic on the other. The decline in outer harbour activity has created many new development opportunities, but these do not offer a solution to the isolation.

In a complex urban project, 51N4E and AWB are resolutely committed to various initiatives that can nevertheless create cohesion in the fragmented urban lobe. One of these is the development of a co-creation area with an urban character along Moreauxlaan, between the old water tower and Fort Napoleon, as a transition zone between the residential and port areas. With a view to promoting the local economy, the focus here is on a productive park with high visibility that can accommodate education, research and entrepreneurship. The urban and green character of this park should make it a pleasant and attractive working environment that attracts both businesses and young families to this part of the city. From here, various crossings to the Vuurtorenwijk neighbourhood will be created to turn the hard barrier into a soft connection.