Rythmanalysis kartinn buda by Лидия Леонова

RHYTHMANALYSIS: FIRST KART-INN IN BUDA Urban Anthropology: seminar [A60566] International Master of Architecture KU Leuven 16th May, 2016

Anna Dovgan, Lidiia Leonova, Luca Cindric, Luis Lopez Sanchez, MinJung Park, Trung Tin Tran

BUDA BRIEFLY ABOUT BUDA Buda is an industrial area situated in the Brussels Metropolitan Northern Area. The border between the Brussels Capital Region and the Flemish Region runs there and is one of the main characteristics. Moreover, the territory belongs to three different municipalities, which are included in Noordrand: the City of Brussels, Machelen, and Vilvoorde. These fragmentations represent a delicate problem to deal with for the management of the real estate. In the center of the area is located the train station, which connects Buda and the city center of Brussels in only 12 minutes. This railway, which is part of the axis Brussels-Antwerp, divides the area into two parts. It runs at a level above the ground floor, which results in the presence of the peculiar brick bridges. Another characteristic is the presence of the Canal and the Zenne, which were extremely important in the past. Buda is one of the oldest industrial areas of Brussels and it was essential to its economic development during the 1920s and 1930s. It is situated in the principal economic axis, which connects the city of Brussels with the Flemish Region. The Canal was the main model for commercial and foreign transport, and the main access to the city. Today we can still see the Buda bridge, which is a lift bridge built in the 1950s and a landmark of the area.

PUBLIC SPACE PROBLEMS Buda is made as an industrial city where people only come for business and very small amount of people are actual dwellers. For this reason, the public space areas were not in the main interest and were left undeveloped. Taking into account the rhythm of people who are coming and staying in Buda right now, public spaces there would not be of considerable use, and as a result they would be abandoned. By doing the survey among the workers of the area, we have found out that the site is not only in the lack of public spaces but also in a lack of places where they can fulfill their basic daily needs, such as proper places to eat or even restroom needs. For this reason, they are bringing meals from their home and eat them in a working space without any need to go out. Conclusion is that a place without public space, results in a place where people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the need of coming nor they want to stay longer than their working hours. We believe that in order to have more pleasant atmosphere on the site and in order to increase the amount of people coming there in general, the improvement in the area of public space is ultimately necessary and needed.

PROGRAM

KART-INN KART-INN

INDUSTRIAL, OFFICES, WAREHOUSES

RESTAURANT/CAFE

RECREATIONAL

HOW TO GET WHERE

HOW TO GET THERE

PROGRAM

KART-INN

PEDESTRIAN

BUS STOP

BICYCLES

TRAIN STATION

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

RAILWAY ROAD CANAL

INDUSTRIAL, OFFICES, WAREHOUSE

FIRST KART-INN ABOUT Established in 1993, First Kart’Inn was the first indoor karting track in Belgium. The service, basic in the beginnings, has been constantly improving over the years and has become a modern complex with indoor and outdoor kart tracks, bar, restaurant and all other amenities needed to have fully satisfying experience. Service includes 35 karts in perfect condition, tested and maintained by their own mechanics, and possibility for not only regular “arrive & drive” sessions, but also the ones of 1, 3, 6, 12 or even 24 hours. Finally, all the staff is bilingual and true professionals in this industry.

INFO Buda’s Kart Inn is one of 23 karting centers in Belgium. Each week the amount of users is around 1200 people – approximately 200 people every day, depending on the day in a week and a season. Every first Monday of the month, they have people driving small motorbikes. Every Wednesday evening there is a championship of their own club, which makes it one of the busiest days in a week with 200-300 people arriving from all over Belgium, Netherlands and France. Saturday is usually the busiest day in the week, together with Sunday morning. Since they have three different type of karts, events in the week are organized according to them: 20 baby karts for Sunday morning, 35 gas karts for regular visitors for all days and 35 fuel karts for professional drivers on Wednesday. Apart from people coming to drive regular karts, they also have around 30 people coming every week to drive small remote-control cars. They have meeting every Monday evening, since 10 years ago. Also, organizations and companies from all around are doing in this center corporative team-buildings. Usually, they first have karting tournament, which is later followed by the lunch in the cafeteria on the second floor. As well, Kart Inn’s management is also trying to organize regularly different events in order to attract more people, especially in the summer when the season is low. Winter is significantly better due to the possibility of indoor driving.

WORKING TIME

WORKING HOURS FOR EVERYBODY TIME FOR CHILDREN

SPECIAL EVENTS Every first Monday of the month, they have those people driving small motor bikes. Every Wednesday evening there is a championship of their club, 200-300 hundred people arrive from all over Belgium, Netherlands and France. Saturday is the busiest day in the week. And Sunday morning because children with kids comes.

SITE ORGANISATION

There is only one route to move inside. From the entrance, people walk into cafeteria passing game room, and they buy tickets in the cafeteria. People who are doing karting only can access to the karting area. Thus, the place for walking through and waiting is too small then the amount of users. Other people who are not karting usually seat in the cafeteria and watch karting outside of glass. The game room near cafeteria is the place where people do games waiting others or after karting.

METHODOLOGY INTRODUCTION TO METHODOLOGY Since Kart Inn has a defined working time, we are having as a final purpose the determination of the who the customers are and several facts that are related to them. For researching these issues, we first investigated the documentation about Buda and the information about Kart Inn center availabe online, which was later followed by interviews of the customers and the employes of the karting center. Finally, we made final obversations which led us to the final conclusions. Aim of interviews is to help us determine several different facts about the people who are coming there. First group of questions has an objective of knowing what age group they belong to in order to find out the customers age structore. Second group of questions has an objective of knowing what means of transportation they use to reach their destination and where do they come from. This would help us determine the impact of the Kart Inn center and how far does it reach. Finally, third group of questions has an aim of giving us more precise insight about what activities they do or would like to do on the site, as well as whether they do or do not do the karting. These insights would help us determine the profile of the customers and give possible directions for the improvements of the site and the area.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS AGE OF USERS

HOW DO THEY GET THERE?

WHERE DO PEOPLE COME FROM?

WHAT DO THEY DO?/WANT TO DO?

OTHER SPORT

REST

SHOPPING

COFFEE

BEER

TYPE OF USERS/WHO APPROPRIATE SPACE?

DO CARTING

OBSERVE/APPROPRIAT

FOR EXAMPLE: CHILDREN + PARENTS

DO CARTING

KIDS 4-11T

EEN 11-18Y OUNG 18-30 ADULT 30-50S

ENIOR +50

APPROPIATE SPACE KIDS 4-11T

EEN 11-18Y OUNG 18-30 ADULT 30-50S

ENIOR +50

FOOD

INTERVIEW OF CUSTOMERS AND WORKERS

WEDNESDAY, 4TH MAY 2016, 18: 15 1) Family (Father and son) Hello, where are you from? Father; Hello, we are from Antwerpen. Are you a family? Father; Yes, I am father of him. Can you tell me your age and his? Father; I am 42, and he is 15. Thanks, and how did you come here? By your own car or public transportation? Father; Yes, I drove my car to come here. You and he both are going to do karting today? Father; Yes, we sometimes do karting together here. And drink something in this cafeteria too? Father; Every time when karting, we drink coke or water here. If you can do other activities such as other kinds of sports, shopping or eating, what will you do? Father; If we can do more sports, I mean, other kinds of sport, it will be great. 2) Two friends Hello, where are you from? A man; We are from Tilburg. Where is Tillburg? Is it in Belgium? Man; No, it is in Netherlands. Okay, how old are you? And he? Man; I am 29, and he is 1 year younger than me. What did you use to come here? Own car or public transportation like train, bus? Man; He took me to here by his car. So, you both do karting today? And drink something here? Man; Yes, we do both, karting and drinking. If you can do other activities like other sports or shopping or something like that, what do you want to do? Man; I want to go shopping near here. Another man; Me, too. If there are some shopping places, we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to move to another place for shopping. Man; I totally agree with that, and I want some nice bars, too. Another man; Yes, bars will be good. 3) Family (Father, mother and two children) Where are you from? Father; From France. Which city in France? Mather; Lille. Did you drive to get here? Or used public transportation? Mather; Yes, he drove to come here. Are you four all doing karting today? Or some of you..? Mather; I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do karting, but three guys did. So, you watched them karting? Mather; Yes, I watched them, it was nice. Did you drink something here during preparing or waiting? Mather; We drank coke after their karting. Oh, I drank a cup of hot tea while watching them. If you can do something else here, what do you want to do? For example, shopping, sports and eating in restaurants etc. Mather; If there are fancy bars, it will be nicer for waiting person like me. And, maybe some stores for shopping? What do you think, guys? First son; I want to eat some delicious foods. Second son; Me, too. And how about you, dad? Father; I want more bars and cafeteria, but it is just my hope. Because I should drive, I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t drink alcohol. But It will be good for many people if there are more places to drink and eat near here. 4) A person Where are you from? Man; I am from Brussels. How old are you? Man; I am 32. Did you come here by your car or public transportation?

Man; I use my car by myself. Are you going to do karting today? And drink also? Man; No, I am just watching championship here, in cafeteria. Sometimes, I do karting, but I won’t do today. Okay, do you want some places for more activities? Man; I have no idea. Can you give me example? This place is quite limited to do various activities, because there is only karting space, cafeteria and game room. So, if you can do more things such as shopping, eating in nice restaurant, rest in a part something like that, what do you want to do? Man; That is nice question. It was boring a little bit in here. If there are department stores or shops, I can spend much more time near here. Also, I want more bars, then I can meet friends there even if I don’t do karting.

FRIDAY, 6TH MAY 2016, 18: 40 Family of 12 persons ( 6 adults, 4 teens, 2 kids) Us: where do you come from? Family: From Antwerp. Us: How do do go to First Karting? Family: we went by cars. It is convenient to go by car with our big family for such a distance like Antwerp-Brussels. Us: Do you go here frequently? Family: It’s occasional, depending on the free time that each member has. Today is holiday, so it’s good to gather and do something together such as karting. Us: Are there any place that we can visit around here? Family: I have no idea. We never walk around, because there is nothing to see. Actually there is a bar at the opposite corner, but I think it is closed Friday, 6th May 2016, 19: 15 Group of Teenagers (4 students of 15 years old) Us: Where do you come from? Teen: Grimbergen. Us: Where is it? Teen: it is in the surroundings, near here. It is on the left bank of the canal to the west. Us: Are you student? Teen: yes, we are students Us: How old are you? Teen: 15 How do you go to Karting? Teen: By bus. How often do you go to Karting? Teen: not so often. Because today is holiday, then we don’t have to go to school and Karting is not too far to go. Us: Do you know any other places around here that are interesting to visit? Teen: No, we just go here to karting and then go home. There are nothing around to visit. This is an industrial area as I know. 1) Young couple Where are you from? Woman; We came from Leuven. How did you come here from Leuven? Man; I borrowed a car from my parents. Oh, you use own car, and how old are you? Man; I am 24 and.. Woman; I am 21. Did you do karting already? Man; Yes, we just finished it. So, you both did karting, right? Woman; Yes. You are drinking cola and will you do other activities here? Woman; I have no idea… maybe we will leave when we drink it. So, you did karting, and drinking. If you can do other things in here, what do you want to do? Man; I want to use more bars and nice cafeteria. Woman; I agree, I want bars and I hope there are some shopping places.

2) Two friends Where are you from? A man; I am from Brussels, and he is from Antwerpen. How did you come here? By your car or train? Man; He drove his car. Another man; Yes, I picked him up at his house in Brussels. And, how old are you? Man; I am 35 years old, and he is.. Another man; I am 30. Okay, are you going karting together? Man; Yes, we are supposed to do. And will you drink something in here? Man; Yes, we might drink here at first. If you can do other things such as shopping, other sports or resting in a park, what will you do? Man; I need more bars and some shops Which kind of shops do you mean? Man; I mean stores for shopping. I like shopping even though eye shopping. And you? Another man; I also want various bars and many kinds of restaurants, too. SATURDAY, 7TH OF MAY, 17:00 1) Young couple Hello, where are you from? Man; We both are from Haacht. And, how old are you? Man; I am 28, and she is 27. How did you come here? By car or public transportation? Man; We got here using my car. Okay, will you both do karting today? Man; Yes, we will. Woman; Because today is his birthday, and we want to celebrate it here. Happy birthday to you! So will you drink something here? Man; Thank you ď &#x160;, yes we want to drink and eat something, but there are not many restaurants or bars near here, so we should come back to Haacht or go to Brussels center. So, do you want to have more places to eat or drink next to the karting? Man; I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think so, because this is an industrial area, it is not suitable to have time for rest. 2) Two friends Where are you from? A man; We came from Ixelles. Oh, Ixelles which is in Brussels, right? Man; yes, Brussels. Okay, and how old are you? Man; We are 26 and 28. Did you use own car or public transportation to come here? Man; We use his car. So, you both are doing karting today? And drinking in this cafeteria? Man; Yes, we already did karting, and now we are going to drink something here. There are only this cafeteria and game room, but do you want another place near here? Man; I think if we can go outside to a park or something like that, it will be nicer.

SUNDAY, 8TH OF MAY, 13:00 1) Family (father, mother, three children) Where are you from? Mother; we are family and all from Brussels How old are you? Mother; I am 41 years old, and my husband is 43. They are 16, 15, 11 each. How did you get here? By your own car or public transportation etc.. ? Mother; We took our own car. Are you all doing karting today? Mother; yes, all of us came here for karting. Andâ&#x20AC;Ś Did you do other activities in here today? Mother; Not yet, but we are going to drink something in here, cafeteria. First child; or we can play games at there. Okay, and if you can do other activities here, what do you want to do ? Mother; Hmm.. If I can, I want to go shopping after karting. Father; I want to drink something in a bar. Children; We need more places for other sports. 2) Group of students (two men and three women) Where are you from? A man; we two are from Brussels and three girls are from Paris. From different cities? Man; Yes, but we are friends. Okay, so are you in same age? or different each other? Man; I am 20 years old, and he is 22. A woman; we are all 17. And, how did you get here? Man; we used our own car. Woman; Yes, but we came to Brussels by train from Paris. Then, to here, did you use his car all together? Woman; Yes, we did. So, are you all doing karting today? Woman; Yes, we do. Will you do other activities in here except karting? Woman and Man; No, we are going to do karting only. If you can do more activities here, what do you like to do? Woman; Hmm.. I think we can only do karting here, because in Brussels, there are many activities, so we can move to there for others.

CONCLUSION OBSERVING TIME

WORKING HOURS FOR EVERYBODY TIME FOR CHILDREN OBSERVING TIME

POPULAR TIMES

comparing the google's "popular time feature" with worker's answers

USAGE BY SEASONS

. Also, they try to organise all the time different events to attract more people, especially in the summer when the season is low. Winter is much better since people can drive indoor.

smoking

observing

games

food

WHAT DO THEY DO?/WHAT DO THEY WANT TO DO?

From our research we also determined that people who going to cart-inn with children or friends, people who are waiting for other to drive have choose from 4 activities: 1. Observing for their children/ friends to drive; 2.Having coffee or fast food in cafeteria on the second floor; 3. Playing games in the small game playing room on the 2-d floor; 4. Having one outdoor activity â&#x20AC;&#x201C; smoking. We asked the visitors and waiters what they would like to do and they said that it would be nice to have some short shopping, having coffee on open cafeteria, relaxing on urban pleasant areas while their children/friends cart-inn or after cart-inn by themselves. As some of them coming from far distance they would like to rest also after the road and driving adventure.

AGE

WHERE ARE THEY FROM

HOW DID THEY GET HERE

WHAT ARE THEY DOING HERE

WHAT DO THEY WISH THERE WAS IN THIS PLACE

20 22 17 17 17

BRUSSELS BRUSSELS PARIS PARIS PARIS

OWN CAR OWN CAR TRAIN AND OWN CAR TRAIN AND OWN CAR TRAIN AND OWN CAR

ONLY KARTING ONLY KARTING ONLY KARTING ONLY KARTING ONLY KARTING

43 41 16 15 11

BRUSSELS BRUSSELS BRUSSELS BRUSSELS BRUSSELS

OWN CAR OWN CAR OWN CAR OWN CAR OWN CAR

KARTING AND DRINK KARTING AND DRINK KARTING, DRINK AND PLAY GAMES KARTING, DRINK AND PLAY GAMES KARTING AND PLAY GAMES

SHOPPING AND BARS SHOPPING AND BARS MORE PLACES TO DO SPORTS MORE PLACES TO DO SPORTS MORE PLACES TO DO SPORTS

28 27

HAACHT HAACHT

OWN CAR OWN CAR