Sports Park Escamp
The Hague, NL
| Type | Design research |
| Design | 2021 |
| Location | The Hague, The Netherlands |
| Size | 25 ha |
| Client | Municipality of Den Haag |
| Team | Eric-Jan Pleijster, Giulia Repici, Mariya Protsyk, Kim Ga Yeong |
As sports parks are traditionally fenced-off areas exclusively used by sports clubs, they could potentially play a greater role in today’s cities. LOLA investigated whether Sports Park Escamp in The Hague could become an ‘open sports park’ with mixed functions, integrated into the city, used all day and all week, opened to people of all ages and backgrounds.
Sports Park Escamp
Sport Park Escamp is a 25-hectare sports park in The Hague, consisting of four scattered sites that are part of the larger recreation and ecological network of the city’s Zuid-West district. The current sports park, which is fenced-in, is mostly used for soccer and hockey.
An open sports park
In addition to enhancing the access and connectivity of the park to all residents, LOLA intends to encourage a healthy lifestyle for everyone. Through opening the sports park and connecting it to the surrounding areas, the sports complex can become a stepping stone in the neighbourhood. Sports Park Escamp can be linked to existing recreational routes, ecological structures and major anchor points in the neighbourhood thanks to a sound routing system.
Multifunctional sports park
An essential part of opening up the sports park is to mix new types of sports and different kinds of functions with the existing sports, functions and layout of Escamp. New types of sports are for example informal sports such as an open-air gym or a stage for street dance, centred around a continuous sports boulevard. An example of a different type of function is the extended ecological corridor that can double as a challenging mud trail as well.
3 scenarios, 1 vision
Some change takes time. LOLA’s design research resulted in a long-term vision for Escamp and its surroundings. This allows the sports park to adapt to the future needs of its surroundings, to slowly change from a mono-functional to a multifunctional use, and gradually find a balance between formal and informal sports, and sports and nature.
Location and the current situation (2021)
Open-up the park(s)
Make Escamp one multi functional green area
Integrate the new park in the city
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