Kunstwerk De Berk

One of the younger works of art in the Laarbeek street scene is De Berk. The evergreen metal tree was placed in the pond at Beekse Akkers in July 2016. Anyone going along the Lieshoutseweg from the Beekse bridge towards Lieshout can see the tree shining in the water. The sculpture is a gift from the municipality of Laarbeek to the residents of the new housing estate Beekse Akkers. Landscape architect Stan Elings designed the work of art; Metaalplan, a metal company from Uden, made the six-metre high sculpture. When the sun shines on it, it looks as if the flat work of art is a real tree. Elings was already involved in decorating the nature in the new neighbourhood in Beek en Donk. He found that a birch tree was the right tree for the work of art. "This one feels at home first and grows in an uncultivated landscape," Elings indicated in 2016. In 2013, the pedestal was already placed in the pond, at the creation, of that part of the new district. Three years later came the Birch. The further idea behind it was that, like the first residents of the district, the Birch was a pioneer: a quick starter and survivor at the same time. The colours and the shape were also very suitable, and besides that: the pond lies on the Berkendijkje.