Village Network Herning South

Catalogue of ideas for landscape development strategies for a network of nine villages in Herning Municipality created in collaboration with the landscape architecture firm DETBLÅ and landscape architect Torben Schønherr.

Landsbynetværk Herning Syd (Village Network Herning South) is the result of a grant from the Danish Business Authority’s Landdistriktspulje (Rural Districts Fund) 2020. The initiative receives funding as a pilot project with the purpose of ‘promoting employment, business development, services, living conditions, settlement and local cultural and leisure activities in rural districts’. The pilot project is a collaboration among community and sports associations from nine villages in Herning Municipality: Kollund, Høgild, Kølkær, Fasterholt, Skarrild, Arnborg, Karstoft, Sandet and Stakroge. With a duration of close to a calendar year, output from the pilot project includes a 172-page catalogue of ideas as well as a range of activities: open community meetings, architectural consultancy, mapping of development opportunities, inspiration workshops, excursions and other events.

The project drafts in the catalogue all reflect local wishes and needs that have been translated into solutions at three levels:

an overarching landscape approach for the village network that is based on the area’s deep landscape structures of streams, meadows and commons.

a connecting landscape approach to the individual village and its near landscapes that links village squares, streets and cultural hubs to the surrounding natural amenities and recreational opportunities.

a collection of principle sketches for establishing, modifying and transforming squares, buildings, streets, roads, paths, sites, communal facilities and so forth.

The project ideas that are outlined in the catalogue are intended as inspiration for formulating an overall development strategy with landscape as its main focus. The project ideas all aim to support and promote village communities, cultural activities and association engagement while enabling the villages to present model examples of how to undertake the necessary transition to a more sustainable society.

Download the full catalogue of ideas as a pdf