In 2023 TerraCottem turns 30 years old. It is, therefore, the ideal occasion to highlight some key figures in the company’s history and, of course, above all we have thought of our “founding father”, Professor Van Cotthem. We had the pleasure of visiting the professor at his house in Zaffelare (Belgium). The inventor of our soil conditioning technology took us down memory lane.
Renovation of the Nazareth cemetery park: the last resting place becomes a green oasis
08/01/2023 – 08:11
The cemetery park in the Belgian town of Nazareth is completely renovated. Following the construction of a new section, work is currently underway to renovate the existing cemetery. The contractor Dirk Bauwens NV is in charge of the works. We spoke with Thomas Bauwens, project director.
We meet at the work. Thomas is ending the day with a construction inspection.
Dirk Bauwens NV is the family business, focused on environmental works for companies, public administrations and industry.
The company was founded in 1963. Dirk Bauwens has more than 40 years of experience carrying out environmental work for both public administrations and the private sector. Both his son and his daughter followed in his footsteps.
His son Thomas Bauwens studied industrial construction and civil engineering. He is also a drone pilot to monitor construction sites. Hence the beautiful images in this article.
Her sister Anneleen Bauwens also works in the company as a project manager and is also an industrial construction engineer and management trainee at Vlerick Business School.
What exactly is a cemetery park: can it be defined?
A park cemetery is a green cemetery, where the proportion of funerary monuments is quite limited and vegetation predominates. Thus, one can find solace and peace in nature. This cemetery was designed by architect Cindy Van Caeneghem of CVC Planning in Ghent.
Is beautiful. Where do we stand, Thomas?
This is still an unrenovated part of the cemetery. We still have to remove the grass and reseed. If we turn around for a moment, you can see what we’re working on.
This section was sown last week with a mix of Barenbrug Water Saver with clover to provide a drought resistant cover.
The top layer was enriched with TerraCottem turf and compost. Throughout the entire project, we used 120,000 kg of green compost and 820 kg of TerraCottem turf soil conditioner as well as TerraCottem arbor for planting trees and shrubs.
Why did you decide to use TerraCottem soil conditioner?
It is a very draining soil. The sandy soil is not only raised, but also drained to keep water out of the burial chambers.
We bought TerraCottem at Luc Pauwels NV.
I see that there is also a lot of new paving. Can you give us some figures?
Indeed, there are many.
- We are placing 1,010 m² of concrete slabs, like the one we just stepped on.
- In addition, 920 m² of semi-pavement supplied with biopolymers from the company Koers .
- There is also 270 m² of synthetic grass tiles: TerraCottem turf was incorporated into the substrate.
- Finally, 130 m² of fired pavers were also installed.
I was able to see this section very well in the aerial photo. What is this exactly?