Location: Sluis
Year: 2023
Area: 6.262 m2
Status: sketch design
Client: Inleisure
Team: Remko Remijnse, Agnese Argenti, Emanuele Saracino, Kristina Barbalat, Matteo Carbone

The fortified town of Sluis has a rich and unique history. The visible remnants of this history, such as the ‘Belfort’, the city walls, the old monastery, the historic center, the Damse Vaart, and the archaeological foundations of churches and castles, create a very special and picturesque atmosphere. It is this atmosphere that forms the basis for the new Graden Park Sluis. The Garden Park will be a sustainable and green holiday park where visitors stay in a contemporary interpretation of historical architecture, village squares, and monastery gardens.
In the layout of the park, 4 areas can be distinguished. Visitors arrive in the central area where the existing row of trees guides them to the facility building and the parking spaces. The ambition is to make the park car-free and to have central parking. The roads around the central area have been designed in the shape of a citadel and mark the boundary between the area ‘green citadel’ and ‘lush landscape’.
The green citadel is a residential area where the accommodations are grouped around small squares and parks. This area is very spacious in layout and invites visitors to meet other guests. There are two types of accommodations here called ‘the castle’ and ‘the monastery’. The castle is a 4-person accommodation that has a strong presence due to its unique appearance. The castle exudes robustness and luxury. The monastery is an inviting 6-person accommodation that caters to spending time with friends and family.
The area ‘lush landscape’ is characterized by walking paths, bushes, flower fields, and water channels. This area reflects the landscape as it existed outside the citadel in the past. The accommodations in this area are playful and spacious. In this area, there is also the small 2-person accommodation ‘the chapel’. This accommodation exudes privacy and tranquility. At 4 special locations, a unique accommodation is placed on a larger plot surrounded by hedges and rows of trees. This ‘statement’ accommodation is inspired by old monasteries that have a monastery garden in their heart. In the statement accommodation, this monastery garden is designed as a patio where, for example, a wellness program can be located.
In the northern corner of the park lies the last area: ‘the secret garden’. This area lies against the city wall of Sluis. It is a green and secluded area of tranquility with only 4 accommodations grouped around a pond. It is a place for reflection and retreat, just as the writer Van Dale from Sluis would have done when he wrote the ‘Groot woordenboek der Nederlandse taal’.