The Life of A Bastard Quarter

The life of a bastard quarter by Sandro Armanda

Real Estate Architecture

The Life of a Bastard Quarter Sandro Armanda

Real Estate Architecture Faculty of Architecture - Campus Sint-Lucas Brussels KU Leuven 2020

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I. The Birth II. The Phantom III. The Life

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I The Birth

THE LIFE OF A BASTARD QUARTER

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I. THE BIRTH

‘If it had been prevented from happening here and there in Brussels, high-rise buildings, in the disorder that we know […] we would not have a ‘bastard’ quarter that’s been abandoned and can’t find a new life.’1

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Michelle Lamensch in Le Soir, dated August 8, 1979.

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THE LIFE OF A BASTARD QUARTER

1900

1970 9

I. THE BIRTH

1990

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THE LIFE OF A BASTARD QUARTER

1900 Looking at this pre-WTC situation of the Northern Quarter, I imagine a lively and busy neighbourhood that used to sit in a very strategic area: in-between two railways (public and industry). Even though some would argue that the pre-WTC Northern Quarter was a rathole and thus modernisation was expected, that doesn’t necessarily justify the act on which decades later Albert Martens would call as an urban crime.

1970 First demolition started in the late 1960s, 12,000 people had to be ‘temporarily’ removed for the sake of urban renewal. WTC plan finally took place, but it had to stop immediately (for the next 15 years) after the oil crisis at the beginning of the 1970s, WTC I & II are the only ones that had successfully erected.

1990 The third tower had finally erected, but the surrounding was still empty and abandoned for a long period of time.

2020 Current state of the Northern Quarter, a half-empty CBD that has started becoming a ‘ghost town’ and struggling to find its new life.

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I. THE BIRTH

La naissance d’un quartier ‘bâtard’ The term ‘bastard quarter’ (originally in French: quartier bâtard) was coined

by Michelle Lamensch in Le Soir (dated August 8, 1979) that is used by Albert Martens, collectively with Ghislaine Ormancey, in the first part of their book ‘Livre deuxième’ (2011), addressing the state-of-becoming of some of the quarters in Brussels (mainly the Northern Quarter) due to failures of the government’s plans. They somewhat became unwanted children from the city’s love affair with modernisation that seemed very charming and attractive at the beginning of the 20th century. Even though some would argue that it’s the buildings that are problematic, not the whole neighbourhood, but we cannot ignore the fact that the whole neighbourhood (and to some extent, the whole city) became corrupted directly because of them, like parasites would do to their host.

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II The Phantom

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II. THE PHANTOM

‘Once cities were designed to accommodate the masses; today the masses have to be seduced.’2

2 Quoted from Reinier de Graaf ’s ‘Phantom Urbanism’ lecture description on Harvard GSD’s website. See: https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/event/reinier-de-graaf-phantom-urbanism/

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THE LIFE OF A BASTARD QUARTER

Phantom Urbanism At his public lecture at Harvard University on March 29, 2018, Reinier de Graaf, OMA’s longest serving non-founding partner, tried to focus on one particular phenomenon of large urban projects that were built but never fully used, and thus, for their failures to attract people [and activities] as they were originally planned, they became ‘ghost towns’. This phenomenon later coined by him with the term ‘phantom urbanism’, the term that he later used as the name of the studio he leads at Harvard Graduate School of Design. The urban projects that he presented to exhibit this phenomenon span from Nova Cidade de Kilamba in Angola, to Tianducheng in China, and they all do have similarities in the cause of their post-modernistic urban explosion and their failures. The function of their urbanism, however, is not to house people that are there, but to attract people in order to come. This kind of urbanism, he argued, is simply a form of wishful thinking based on self-fulfilling logic, contrary to the characteristic of urbanism in the 50s and the 60s, that revolved around the problem of housing shortage and demographic needs. In the case of Dubai, for instance, we have a new city that could be seen as a landscape of free-enterprise urbanism that is actually a disguised monopoly, as most of the buildings there owned by small circle of stakeholders and real estate developers.

From all the projects they have investigated so far, they found out that there are at least three typical causes of failures of these projects that led them to become ‘ghost towns’, either one of them, or a combination of them. These causes are; economic failures, which categorise failures that are caused by running out of17

II. THE PHANTOM

-money in the project and often coupled with cost mismatch. Then physical failures, which consist of failures caused by lack of infrastructure to sustain its inhabitants, lack of accessibility, and poor construction. And finally, political failures which are mostly cause by lack of planning from government and adoption of outdated model of urbanisation.

By his definition, ‘phantom urbanism’ means urban housing projects, over one square kilometre in size, which are built to fail to become at least 50% occupied within the first year of completion. However, there are two things from his definition that I think need to be revised. Firstly, the word ‘housing’ I think is no longer fit given by looking at the recent studies he and his studio at Harvard have done and currently doing, more urban projects have been added to his plate that are ranging more than just housing projects, and thus this fits more to our case in the Northern Quarter. And secondly, the phrase ‘50% occupied within the first year of completion’ should be reconsidered in our Northern Quarter case as it is difficult and complex to pinpoint its failure based on its first year of its completion as the project itself has been going through ups and downs, halted and continued for many reasons within the last few decades. The vacancy/occupancy rate is still a really important factor to determine whether this is a phantom urbanism or not. The Northern Quarter itself for example, from the data I collected so far, has occupancy rate that is more than 50% on average (but I’m suspicious that it is below 50% at night, hence the daytime and nighttime study that I propose) but still, it shows the symptoms of phantom urbanism. Nevertheless, this is what I’m trying to prove.

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THE LIFE OF A BASTARD QUARTER

1990

2010 *data source: Observatoire des Bureaux #36 (2016) by citydev.brussels

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II. THE PHANTOM

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Vacant

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Partly occupied (<60%) Occupied (>60%)

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THE LIFE OF A BASTARD QUARTER

*data source: Observatoire des Bureaux #36 (2016) by citydev.brussels

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II. THE PHANTOM

Vacant Spaces Ever since a major move-in in 2011 to the Northern Quarter, half of the space in there was mostly occupied by the federal government and administrations. One fifth of it was occupied by financial sectors, one eighth was occupied by headquarters of large corporations, and one fifth by other sectors.

However, given that some major leasers from the government moved out in 2018, it created more vacant space in the quarter. The effect is multiplied as many office buildings are currently undergoing big renovations and (re-)constructions.

The gradual decline of the quarter is slow, but showing. The Northern Quarter has been blighting quicker than it was expected. On the other hand, with its 9-5 daily use pattern caused by the quarterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one-dimensional characteristics, it creates a big occupancy gap in the quarter as it is mostly empty at night. A bipolar urbanity, the two sides of a coin.

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Two Sides of a Coin

Daytime occupancy During the day, almost all of the occupants--that are mostly white collar workers--stay inside the buildings. The outside space, however, remains almost empty. Parked cars fill the streetsides but a lot more of them are parked in the basement of the buildings. Few people and cars will be seen traversing from one side of the quarter to the other.

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II. THE PHANTOM

Nighttime occupancy While at night, the quarter is completely empty and left alone. It becomes a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;noplaceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, a no-go zone. This is the time when the phantom usually creeps in. It brings perverts, criminals, drug addicts, fear, and danger along with it.

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III The Life

THE LIFE OF A BASTARD QUARTER

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III. THE LIFE

The heart of the Northern Quarter The crossing area of Boulevard Simon Bolivar and Boulevard Roi Albert II and its surrounding is the most strategic yet somehow the most dead.

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THE LIFE OF A BASTARD QUARTER

The components

Buildings

Green spaces

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III. THE LIFE

Streets

Open spaces

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THE LIFE OF A BASTARD QUARTER

Buildings The one-dimensional nature of the buildings is one of the main culprits of the deadness.

Green spaces Green spaces are scattered and not well-connected. The linear parks along the Boulevard Roi Albert II are too small and too awkward to be used for any activites. While the biggest park in the NQ, the notorious Maximilian Park is occupied by the asylum seekers.

Streets The streets are too wide as the results from the mindset of the modern urban planning that tended to separate different kind of street users. The wideness of the streets caused disconnection between existing parks as well.

Open spaces The main open spaces are actually located right in the heart of the Northern Quarter, right in-between of the North Station and CCN building and the WTC towers complex. However, despite its strategic location, those spaces are pretty much dead, lack of crossings and purposes.

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III. THE LIFE

Getting Rid of the Phantom In order to get rid of the phantom and brings back life to the Northern Quarter, I am using Jane Jacobs’ book ‘The Death and Life of Great American Cities’ (1961) as the main point of reference ‘to cure’ the Americanised neighbourhood.

Jane Jacobs believed how fatal monotony can be for a city. A vital urban life can only be achieved by, first of all, making people close together, literally and figuratively. To achieve that, it needs to fulfil these four conditions: more than one primary function, shorter blocks, combination of old and new buildings, dense concentration of people.

That said, I will instead merge them into three fundamental things that the Northern Quarter needs most, and those things are: 1. Diversity 2. Density 3. Spatial integration These three fundamentals will generate what is needed to achieve social and economic vitality of place.

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THE LIFE OF A BASTARD QUARTER

Current state

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III. THE LIFE

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The Northern Quarter 34

THE LIFE OF A BASTARD QUARTER

Current future plan

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III. THE LIFE

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The Northern Quarter 36

THE LIFE OF A BASTARD QUARTER

What needs to be done

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III. THE LIFE

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The Northern Quarter 38

THE LIFE OF A BASTARD QUARTER

Legend Office

Store

Housing

Bakery

Office + Housing

Florist

School Library Theater Art Gallery Art Studio Sports

Restaurant

Cafe Bar 39

Church Park Bank Automat Vacant

III. THE LIFE

Diversity The very first thing that the Northern Quarter needs is diversity. The components of this diversity can differ enormously, but they must supplement each other in certain concrete ways (Jacobs, 1961).

In the previously showed schemes, I began by injecting more activities to the current state of the Northern Quarter. The main idea is to add more functions such as services, restaurants, and cultural facilities.

Yes, the primary use can be offices, or even better with dwellings included. However, the secondary ones are equally important as the primary ones. Secondary functions respond to the primary function users that the quarter attracts in the first place, they need to be combined to attract diversity, they need to be mingled together on dayto-day basis. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to make people appear at different times, to spread people through time of day, especially at the time when the quarter needs them the most for time balance: mid afternoon (between 14:00 and 17:00), evenings, and weekends.

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THE LIFE OF A BASTARD QUARTER

Current density = 4,000-5,000/km2 (very low)*

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*Including Masui Quarter. Data source: Maximilien-Vergote: Etude de definition (2018) by perspective.brussels

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III. THE LIFE

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The Northern Quarter 42

THE LIFE OF A BASTARD QUARTER

Required density = 14,000-20,000/km2*

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*In order to be as equal as the more lively neighbouring quarters. Data source: Maximilien-Vergote: Etude de definition (2018) by perspective.brussels

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III. THE LIFE

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The Northern Quarter 44

THE LIFE OF A BASTARD QUARTER

The dense and diverse liveliness on Rue de Brabant in the neighbouring quarter, Brabant Quarter.

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III. THE LIFE

Density I have previously mentioned how vital urban life can only be achieved by making people close together, literally and figuratively, and I cannot stress that enough. Thus, it is very necessary to make the population of the Northern Quarter much more dense than it is right now, and that leads to our second fundamental thing, that is density.

In order to do that, more housing units will be needed. But by saying this Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not talking about converting all of the existing office units into housing units. I personally still believe that office spaces, in this context as products of real estate market, play important roles in the economy and more importantly society as well. The problem is that, modernism made office life and quotidian life seem distant, people have to commute from one place to another that contributes to stress, traffic and pollution, among many others. That said, it is important to make this dichotomy to coexist side-by-side. Especially after looking at how the recent COVID-19 pandemic changed the whole working dynamics, the notion of living-working culture needs to be rethought.

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THE LIFE OF A BASTARD QUARTER

Spatial Integration

Pedestrian boulevard + activated sidewalks

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Secondary functions (services, stores, restaurants, cultural activities, etc.)

Primary functions (office + housing)

III. THE LIFE

And lastly, to respond to the problems that I have mentioned at the beginning of this chapter about how the green and open spaces seem very disconnected due to the very wide streets in the Northern Quarter and how they became vacuum spaces instead of lively spaces as the were intended, the radical solution would be to completely liberate the Boulevard Simon Bolivar from vehicular activities. It will connect all the scattered parks and the canal-side and station-side of the Northern Quarter better. Buildings need to be opened and commercialised on the ground level, while the upper levels should be occupied by a combination of office and housing units, these are all following the previously showed schemes about diversity and density. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to make the streets always active and attractive. By having more eyes on the streets, the safety of the area will be increased simoultaneously. This spatial integration solution will be the third fundamental thing and will subsequently complete the whole solution to bring life back to the Northern Quarter.

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III. THE LIFE

Open spaces will only become vacuum spaces between buildings, little used, unloved, if thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no particular reason for people to stay there, not just passing by. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to trigger intricate activities and crossings within these spaces.

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III. THE LIFE

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s necessary to understand park behaviour. Parks cannot be left empty otherwise it will only attract vicious activities.

By adding more programs and activities, it will provide eyes to the parks and thus safety, same like the streets.

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III. THE LIFE

As Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve mentioned before, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to make people appear at different times, to spread people through time of day, especially at the time when the quarter needs them the most for time balance: mid afternoon (between 14:00 and 17:00), evenings, and weekends, to have intricate activities in the Northern Quarter as long as possible by commercialising the ground floor level, providing more public facilities, services, and entertainments

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References Albert Martens’ ‘Livre deuxieme: La non-réalisation du Plan Manhattan ou Qu’est devenu le quartier Nord 4 décennies plus tard?’ (2011-2012) and his presentation in 2017 that was titled ‘Crime withouth punishment? The story of Brussels-North neighbourhood’.

Reinier de Graaf ’s ‘Phantom Urbanism’ public lecture at Harvard GSD (2018) and his official Phantom Urbanism website page at oma.eu.

Jane Jacobs’ canonical ‘The Death and Life of Great American Cities’ (1961) perspective.brussels’ ‘Maximilien-Vergote: Etude de definition’ (2018) citydev.brussels’ ‘Observatoire des Bureaux #36’ (2016) annual report and also some more from the archive of Observatoire des Bureaux from 1997 until 2018.

Credits Photo of Church Saint Roch on page 3 was taken from irismonument.be Aerial photo on pages 7-8 was taken from irismonument.be Aerial photo on pages 27-28 was taken from Apple Maps Photo of Rue de Brabant on page 45 was taken from jeanpierrevangorp.info Photos on pages 49, 51, 53 were taken from Google Maps The rest of the photos and images were either taken by the author or drawn by the author himself.

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‘The Life of a Bastard Quarter’ is a delve into the notorious Northern Quarter, the once-ambitious megaproject of the city of Brussels that has turned into a ‘ghost town’ that we all know today. The booklet is divided into three chapters. The first chapter, ‘The Birth’, tells a brief story of how the whole thing started. In the late 1960s, 12,000 of its inhabitants had to be displaced to give space for a new Central Business District which was later heavily criticised by the public as an urban crime. The second part, ‘The Phantom’, investigates the ‘ghost town’ phenomenon that has occurred in the recent decades of the quarter’s life. This chapter brings readers to look closer into how the quarter behaves and to identify what is lacking.

While the last part, ‘The Life’ explores some strategies to bring life back to the quarter.

Faculty of Architecture - Campus Sint-Lucas Brussels KU Leuven 2020