Bloemenbuurt Hilversum
Hilversum, Netherlands

Hilversum is the largest garden city developed in The Netherlands in the first half of the twentieth century, under the guidance of famous architect Dudok.

Garden City Type:	Mixed (housing association / municipality / other)

Country:	Netherlands
City:	Hilversum
Years of construction:	1915 Start construction

Initiator/client:	Municipality of Hilversum (own 'woningbedrijf') + various housing associations
Architect or related:	Multiple

Heritage status:	Yes
General condition of Garden City:	Good condition

General description

Hilversum is the only city in the Netherlands that was developed as a large-scale garden city in the first half of the 20th century. It has an abundance of nature, social amenities and high-quality architecture and urban planning. Through several extensions in the form of garden suburbs, architect Willem Marinus Dudok succeeded in forging the city into a cohesive garden city while maintaining a rural character. Under his direction, twenty-nine municipal complexes were created until 1953, of which the Bloemenbuurt was the first.

Architecture / Urban planning

Dudok devoted a relatively large part of the available space to parks and playing fields. Gateway buildings and recessed and projecting façade walls alternate open and closed streets. Small squares and courtyards promoted social cohesion, something to which the centrally located public buildings also contributed. This gave the neighbourhood the character of a small village.