Leren denken in ensembles: Toekomst voor Limburgse landgoederen

The Netherlands are faced with a large number of spatial challenges, such as climate adaptation, building houses for a growing population, energy transition, industrial growth and infrastructural expansions. The spatial pressure on our cultural landscape is increasing and it’s endangering valuable heritage sites. Country houses and estates are interesting in this context, certainly because they belong to the few heritage types in the Netherlands that can have heritage protection as a site. Is that protection sufficient or do we need to develop new instruments and perspectives for maintaining, protecting and developing historic country houses and estates? This paper introduces a spatial and social approach to heritage in which country estates are viewed as physical, functional and social ensembles: the country house with garden, park, woodlands, agricultural fields, (water)ways, farmsteads, mills, even with church and village, and of course with its community of people that live, work and recreate there. What lessons can we learn from the past to preserve and transform the Dutch country estates for the future? Can the estate landscapes perhaps even contribute to finding solutions for contemporary spatial and social challenges? Recent Limburg experiences show that a broader interpretation of the art historical approach to outdoors as 'ensembles' offers opportunities.