‘cycling through water’ provides a unique experience of belgium's lake district

in belgium‘s largest lake district, de wijers, a unique path for cyclists has been carved by lens°ass architecten, with a nature conservation project of the surrounding ponds undertaken by burolandschap. the trail, which can be found in bokrijk, in between cycle junctions 91 and 243, first opened in 2016 and has since welcomed hundreds of thousands of tourists and was even named in TIME’s 2018 list of the world’s 100 greatest places. 

image courtesy of burolandschap (main image © luc dalemans)

on the limburg cycle route network a series of cycle paths and bridges, curated by visitlimburg.be, invites visitors to explore the natural landscape. one of these is designed by lens°ass architecten to be under the level of the water, creating the attraction of ‘cycling through water’, and effectively establishing a fine balance between ecology and tourism.

image © luc dalemans

as part of the nature conservation project, the fauna and flora of the lakes have also been restored. the green screen has been replaced by new lakes with an opportunity to experience the water via a plank bridge. these changes in the landscape have created a unique perspective from the open-air museum to the lake area and vice versa. overall, with subtle improvements, the design by lens°ass architecten and burolandschap provides the perfect opportunity for nature-lovers to experience the historic lake landscape of the wijers.     

image © luc dalemans

image © luc dalemans

image © luc dalemans

image © luc dalemans

image courtesy of burolandschap

image courtesy of burolandschap

image courtesy of burolandschap

project info:

project name: cycling through water in bokrijk

project owner: visitlimburg.be

location: genk, belgium

cycling through water designer: lens°ass architecten

nature conservation project of the surrounding ponds: burolandschap