Place Liedts Schaerbeek

GROUPWORK

LANDMARKS INVESTIGATING CITYZENS’S OWNERSHIP THROUGHOUT SCHAERBEEK

Isinsu Tazici, Federico Barillari, Fien Vermeir, William Pauwels

GROUPWORK - LANDMARK

[Figure 1]. main areas of interest throughout schaerbeek following the survey’s data collected on site, divided into age groups and community;

GROUPWORK - LANDMARK

LANDMARK /’lan(d)ma:k/ 1. An object or feature of a landscape or town that is easily seen and recognized from a distance, especially one that enables someone to establish their location; 2. A building or place that is easily recognized, especially one that you can use to judge where you are; 3. A conspicuous object on land that marks a locality, an anatomical structure used as a point of orientation in locating other structures, an event or development that marks a turning point or a stage, a structure (such as a building) of unusual historical and usually aesthetic interest How much do the inhabitants of Schaerbeek know about their own neighborhood? How do they establish a connection with the site? Do they have landmarks? “...very straightforward questions, no room for misunderstanding...what we want are very clear and specific answers that will allow us to concretize such data!”

Taking into consideration the richness of the site regarding the social and cultural differences among the “actors”, the first outcome we expect is a wide variety of LANDMARKS, as a result of an intimate ownership of the place, to state how they recognize different opportunities in the sorrounding space and how they use them.

The survey carried out on site during the month of September aimed to answer the previous questions through the collection of as many data as possible among the people living there. The amount of informations gathered thanks to these “unwitting actors” that took part in the survey allowed us to categorize such data into specific groups and sub-groups [Figure 1].

KEY WORDS LANDMARK - survey - actors - social - cultural - intimacy - opportunity 3

GROUPWORK - LANDMARK

Figure 2,3. rythm of usage concerning the TOP - DOWN and BOTTOM - UP landmarks;

GROUPWORK - LANDMARK

... DON’T YOU KNOW ANYTHING ELSE...? “...Brabantstraat, Place Liedts, Lehonplein, josaphat Park, Botanique...”

Such names and few more were constantly mentioned throughout the whole time spent on site. But the questions and the survey itself were aiming to a more inner and intimate insight of it. What is actually missing? Looking at those places what immediately jumps in mind is the fact that every individual, even if not living in the area, could actually mention those places.

So what at first was only a conjecture, now it materialize, it shapes as an actual lack of ownership and intimacy towards the Schaerbeek neighborhood by its own inhabitants. To remark such a statement, It’s enough to quote one of the most common answers among the actors: “I don’t know!”. “...How is it possible? ...Why? ...How people could be so frivolous?”

Overall the main result of the survey is the ability to affirm the almost general lack of interest in the area in which the actors live, driven mainly by essential (living, eating) or recreational needs (shopping, cafes). But terms such as community, sense of belonging slip away from the context.

Analyzing the data collected through a further categorization, we can see the predominance of TOP DOWN landmarks, due to the physical predominance of most of them on the territory rather than the real social impact they have on the community (many landmarks are only accessible for a specific period of time during the day) [Figure 2].

Despite this, BOTTOM UP landmarks remain a constant presence on site.

To notice the total absence of volume in this typology, more characterized by public places and spaces in the surrounding area. It should also be noted the constant use of these spaces throughout the day, determined mainly by the absence of physical barriers around them and the more social and attractive character of these landmarks [Figure 3].

KEY WORDS lack of ownership - essentials needs - recreational needs - TOP DOWN - BOTTOM UP 5

GROUPWORK - LANDMARK

Figure 4,5. Soft City (from the book Soft City by Pushwagner H.)

GROUPWORK - LANDMARK

CONCLUSION The final perception that arises from the survey is a notion of detachment of the people from the area they are living in. As previously stated, answers like “... I don’t know!” “... there’s nothing here!” “... I prefer to go downtown!” throughout the interviews are quite frequent, no matter the age or the community of belonging. Therefore a common line of thought can be outlined among the citizens of Schaerbeek, who for personal, social or local reasons (presence of prostitution, drug dealers, homeless and alcoholic ... just to name a few) do not consider the area attractive from a social and communal point of view.

Yet the streets of Schaerbeek always appear crowded during most of the day, some of them are eventually busy all day and night [Figure 2,3]. Commercial activities are active and various cafes and clubs have a continuous flow of customers. Individuals therefore appear “physically” present on site, but at the same time it’s hard to sense this bond, this connection with the sorrounding.

This lead to a second statement. The main reason for the presence of people within the site is purely related to the presence of shops and restaurants of various kinds throughout the whole area. Thus, the drive is rather capitalistic than emotive!

A capitalistic drive, better to call it instinct nowadays, that lead people to repeat the same actions over and over again in the same exact place, until they are habits [Figure 4,5]. Hard not to mention the “daily routine” that controls the inhabitants of the Soft City, that even if a dystopic picture of a city of the future, convey similar traits to what has been seen and analyzed on site.

KEY WORDS attractiveness - social - communal - phisically - bondless - capitalistic drive - daily routine 7

MAIB34

INDIVIDUAL WORK

PLACE LIEDTS TRANSFORMED INTO A SOCIALLY COHESIVE, CULTURALLY VIBRANT AND ENVIROMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE CENTER. Fien Vermeir

CONTEXT ANALYSIS

Figure 6. Site plan (city scale)

Figure 7. Site plan (quarters)

Figure 8. Site plan (public functions)

Pictures taken on site show the very specific character of Place Liedts.

[PUBLIC TRANSPORT, TRAFFIC, PASSAGE, COMPLEX,...]

[SPONTANIOUS, INFORMAL, DIVERSE, ETHNIC, IN & OUT, ...]

[ISLAND, DISSOCIATED, UNDEFINED SPACE, FRAGMENTED, ...]

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PROJECT OBJECTIVES

“How to redesign Liedts as a socially cohesive, culturally vibrant and environmentally sustainable center?�

As our group research has shown, there is an explicit lack of ownership, a need for recreational space and a lack of communal feeling.

These flaws translate into the bottom-up layer that is cleary missing from the site.

Therefore I wanted to redesign Liedts into a new vibrant center that meets these particular needs while remaining the very characteristic features of the site...

...but considering Beliris future project for the expansion of metroline 3, which adds another top down layer, the challenge was also to develop my project as a consensus between bottom up and top down.

Figure 9. NW axonometric

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DESIGN STRATEGY

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Figure 10. SW axonometric exploded scheme (surrounding functions, boulevard, squares)

2nd layer: SQUARES [ORGANIZED, DEFINED, NAVIGATING, DIVERSE] Squares navigate in respect to where they come from.

Traffic passes slowly over the squares.

1. “...shopping in rue de Brabant...”

2. “...architecture school in rue de Palais...”

3. “...appointment at the town hall of Schaerbeek...”

4. “...meeting friends in the courtyard...”

5. “...taking the subway to...”

6. “...appointment at the police station...”

1st layer: BOULEVARD [UNIFORM, CHAOTIC, PEDESTRIAN, DYNAMIC] Designed through accessibility (boundaries defined by public functions vs residential) and biodiversity (perforations).

Material: Concrete tiles (natural stone appearance) -strong -sustainable -not slippery but rough -contrasting

Tree: Tilia Gordata -12 to 16m high -strongly scented flowers in summer -leaves turn yellow in fall -loses leaves in winter (recycling policy) -tolerates paved surface -windshield on windy days -offers shadow on hot days -attracts bees and butterflies

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DESIGN STRATEGY

Figure 11. SW axonometric exploded scheme (surrounding functions, sewerage and water drainage, urban furniture)

4th layer: URBAN FURNITURE [ENCOURAGEMENT OF MOVEMENT, OVERLOOKING, PLAY, TEMPORARY] Designed through activity...

Furniture will determine what happens on the squares...

Beliris expansion metroline 3

3rd layer: INFILTRATION AND DRAINAGE Designed through topography (infiltration at lowest points on squares) & existing sewage system.

Material: Gravel -permeable

Grass: Briza Media -50 to 70 cm high -fully capable of over wintering -blooms may-july

Round drainage sewer manhole

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ZOOM ON SQUARES

Figure 12. Water square

The water square reflects the topography of the site as water runs slowly over some lowered steps.

Children can play in the shallow waterscape and mark their foothprints on the area.

Material: Concrete yellow tiles

The tram square allows people to have a seat while waiting for their tram or taking a break from doing groceries. The urban furniture folds at different heights and takes different forms.

“...quickly finishing some work while waiting for my tram...”

“...having a little chat, we bought this sandwich in the snackbar around the corner...”

Figure 13. Tram square

“...waiting for my friend...”

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ZOOM ON SQUARES

The courtyard square allows children to play in a safe environment. It is located within an urban block and connects to the belonging private gardens. It offers public greenery and a great meeting place for the neighbourhood.

The open space was created by the demolition of 2 properties. In this way a flow is created that connects to the side entrance of the subway. The structure refers to the former warehouse and thereby preserves the existing urban fabric.

“...watching my grandchildren play basketball...” “...because we don’t have a garden...”

Material: Rubber -made from shoe soles -communal fundraiser -involves kids -colourful -non slippery -shock absorbing Figure 14. Courtyard

Figure 15. Render courtyard

“...his metro should arrive soon...” “...waiting for the tram...”

The central square is an important key in transportation. People can easily access the subway, wait for their tram or make use of the city bikes.

Figure 16. Central square (subway entrance)

ZOOM ON SQUARES

Material: Polished concrete Figure 17. Skate square

“...learning each other new tricks...�

The skate square is designed as urban furniture with a double functions. They can be used for skating but people can also sit down on them and overlook the plaza.

Underneath there is an integrated light strip that refers to the underlying subway.

“...because it’s beautiful weather today and my metro is only in 20min...”

The subway square focuses on the other main entrance to the subway. The main difference can be noticed in scale.

Material: Concrete Figure 18. Subway square

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ZOOM ON SQUARES

Figure 19. Police square

The police square is located in front of the police station.

It as part of the entrance and a curved bench allows people to wait.

“...I rent them all the time, it’s so easy...”

The Brabant square is a connecter between rue de Brabant and place Liedts. Another side entrance to the subway can be reached from this square. Integrated street lights navigate you to Place Liedts and refer to the underlying subway. “...on our way to Liedts, we’re grabbing a snack with some friends and are picknicking in the courtyard..”

Figure 20. Brabant square

CONCLUSION

The redesign of Place Liedts has won over the current infrastructure and broke away the isolation. I obtained the bottom-up layer by bringing street realities into the program. Hereby each square has it’s specific function based on the infrastructure that already was there and keeping in mind the one planned to be there in the future. The redesign reflects the diversity of stakeholders (as different squares) that are located in a spontanious, natural and dynamic context.

Figure 21. Collage of all squares

MAIB34

Design assignment for MAIB34

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