Star Maze
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At a glance
- Project by: LOLA landscape architects
- Location: Tytsjerk, Netherlands
- Program: Extension to public park
Preview image
© LOLA landscape architects
Project images
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Connections between the different fields © LOLA landscape architects View project image |
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Connections between the new park chambers and the surroundings © LOLA landscape architects View project image |
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Room divider creates park spaces for various use © LOLA landscape architects View project image |
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Large areas of pollard surround spaces of various size © LOLA landscape architects View project image |
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The star maze is a remix of two historical park figures © LOLA landscape architects View project image |
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Plan 1:500 © LOLA landscape architects View project image |
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Bird's eye view of the park extension © LOLA landscape architects View project image |
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Center of the star maze, with a view on the main villa © LOLA landscape architects View project image |
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Corridor with a peek through to one of the park spaces © LOLA landscape architects View project image |
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Landscape balcony offering visitors a view over the hedge, into nature © LOLA landscape architects View project image |
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Section of the hedges, suitable for mechanical maintenance © LOLA landscape architects View project image |
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Elevation of a hedge with perforations © LOLA landscape architects View project image |
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Star maze tip 1: landscape balcony © LOLA landscape architects View project image |
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Star maze tip 2: closed hairpin © LOLA landscape architects View project image |
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Star maze tip 3: open entrance © LOLA landscape architects View project image |
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Star maze tip 4: jetty for canoes © LOLA landscape architects View project image |
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Star maze tip 5: vista to villa © LOLA landscape architects View project image |
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Star maze tip 6: rubber boot hut © LOLA landscape architects View project image |
Architect's statement
Park extension Groot Vijversburg:
Park Groot Vijversburg is a romantic public park with a growing art collection, located in the north of The Netherlands. The park is 
broadening its boundaries and is ambitious to become a national destination. The winning landscape design gives a contemporary interpretation to two new park chambers which 
create a link between the historical park, a post-war recreational area and a nature reserve.
Central element in the design is the ‘Star Maze’, a remix 
of two historic park figures: the star shaped forest and the labyrinth. This structure consists of tall hedges that function like room dividers for the 
existing meadow and create several park spaces suitable for various use. On top of this, the structure creates connections to the surrounding landscape and arranges 
the accessibility to the various fields. Each ending of the ‘Star Maze’ has a function, such as a landscape balcony with a view over the 
nature reserve, a pier for canoe travelers in the recreational area, a window with a vista to the main park villa and a shed with 
rubber boots, to explore the marshland. The second park chamber, which can be flooded regularly, contains several hills with perennials in a field of pollard 
willows. The hills can be reached through a grid structure of small dikes.
The design offers the visitor a great freedom of choice in the way 
he can move through the park. The visitor has to find his own way through the ‘Star Maze’ to the different areas. The central space 
gives an overview in all directions but at the same time doesn’t impose any direction. By doing so, the design goes beyond the ideals of 
public cultivation and public health on which the nearby romantic park and the modernistic recreational landscape are based, and it gives the visitor maximum freedom 
to use the park however he wishes to.
The team (LOLA, Deltavormgroep, Piet Oudolf) has won this commission through a national tender, for which five teams 
were selected. The other design teams were B+B in collaboration with Michael van Gessel, OKRA, Hosper en Strootman.
Details/Credits
- Project name: Star Maze
- Location: Tytsjerk, Netherlands
- Program: Extension to public park
- Area: Project Size: 85,000 m2
- Year: Commission: 2012 • Construction Start: 2013
- Project by: LOLA landscape architects
- Others: Collaborators: Deltavormgroep, Piet Oudolf
- Text: Courtesy of LOLA landscape architects
- Images: Courtesy of LOLA landscape architects
Related links
- Civic/Public Architecture
- Dutch architecture
- Architecture projects from Netherlands
- LOLA landscape architects website
- LOLA landscape architects
