ciney (be

cInEy

belgique/belgië/ belgien (be)

SITE PROPOSED BY

ciTy oF ciney

OWNER(S) OF THE SITE

priVATe reAl esTATe compAnies And inFrAbel (sncb - belgium rAil)

348

IntErvIEW

of the Site’S repreSentative jEAn-MIcHEl dEgrAEvE, architect, vice-preSiDent, europan belgiuM

Summary of preparations made with the help of jean-Marie cheffert, burgmeister of the town of ciney and frédérick botin, 1st alderman, head of Spatial planning for the Municipality of ciney

presentation of the site within the context of the city development and in terms of strategy

in order to strengthen its role as a sub-regional hub in condroz, the ciney local authorities wish to make the station district a strategic area for urbanisation, supporting the town centre. the basic elements of this redevelopment are the removal of the level crossing and the relocation of traffic on quai de l’industrie along the railway line. to the north-east of the station, the plots between the railway and quai de l’industrie constitute the town centre’s remaining land reserve. the objective is to transform this former industrial area into a mixed housing and business zone, which will structure the space around the station and fulfil the need for offices, housing and car parks. the aim is to insert this programme between the train and bus passenger platforms, the banks of the river leignon and quai de l’industrie, with its lining of converted former factories. the Municipality wants a framework plan that will bring together the relevant stakeholders – municipality, railway operator, private landowners – around a global project to create a new hub that connects with the existing facilities and infrastructures.

How can the site be integrated in the issue of the adaptable city and how do you consider this issue?

the uncertain nature of the programmatic elements in the conversion of this former industrial district into an urban entity requires a “management of uncertainty”. the aim is to get away from an approach based on one-off or sectoral initiatives to produce a global vision that will introduce a neighbourhood dynamic with flexible, phased development. in a constantly changing world, more than a catalogue of good ideas, we need an inventory of potential uses of the site and representations of possibilities that incorporate changes to it: uncertainty about the organisation of mobility within the district, creation of adaptable functions – housing that can be converted to offices and vice versa, adaptability to new ways of working and inhabiting.

At the time of sustainable development coupled to an economic crisis, have you already defined a specific strategy for the urban development of the site?

Sustainable developments are needed, in particular high housing density, minimum energy consumption and a reduction in waste from buildings, both during construction and in use. We also need a well-managed water cycle, which will contain the risks of flooding from the river and make it part of the neighbourhood ecosystem.

349

350

rubik’S concept, flexible Device, Mutable anD inventive MaSter plan

rubik’s

team point of view our concept is based on a new perception of the land with the implementation of a 16 m x 16 m urban network and an evolutionary process of urbanization. With the existing fabric providing the fundamental anchor, specific actions and goals appear as a multitude of impulses that gradually revitalise, redefine and rebalance the district. the spatial and temporal organization generates versatile, adjustable, modular and architectural closed spaces and an ecological landscape. this Rubik’s style mesh effectively depicts the work of composition and develops a method of processing the site. Without a formal proposal or predefined hierarchy, the project seeks to be autonomous, with every typology responding individually to needs, without losing general urban coherence.

jury point of view the project proposes a real planning tool for an evolutionary development process. the establishment of urban “stimuli” suggests future choices. this approach builds a structured project where different elements of the programme are interwoven in a global logic that is gradually affirmed. however it proposes no architecture or building scales, except a grid and a small study on the “in-between”.

2017: the preServeD Site of the nuiSanceS of the roaD anD the railWay 2025: the city evolveS accorDing to the neeDS 2043: the return to nature like one of the Many aDaptability of lanD

Mattia valenti 54011 aulla (MS) anD 20146 Milano, italy t. +39 3803463308 Mattia_valenti@yahoo.it

nIccolò bEngHI (it) EnrIco busAto (it) pAolo dE nArdI (it) bEnEdEttA MAlAIsI costA (it) sArA pEzzuttI (it) MAttIA vAlEntI (it) architectS

the leignon river proDuce a flexible natural Space

chute

team point of view the aim of the project for ciney is to turn it into a new service and residential hub as well as a new park along the river leignon. We propose to solve the problem of traffic by building a new vehicular underpass and a hanging walkway to enhance pedestrian access from the town and railway station to the park-and-ride facility and shopping centre. a continuous parking basement along the railway acts as an acoustic barrier for the housing behind it. above it, are office buildings. on the other side, to define the character of the existing street front, we propose terraced housing units, with garages alternating with workshops at ground floor level. the materials employed reflect the belgian figurative tradition, giving a project with which people can easily identify.

jury point of view While respecting the existing urban fabric, the project proposes a rational solution to the through-traffic problem. the originality of the project is that it manages to reduce the disadvantages of the site by isolating the neighbourhood from the noise of the railway by creating a volume that contains the car park, which serves as a base for offices. the required flexibility is achieved. the different options are feasible despite encouraging the construction on the noisy side of the railway and the development of urban activities near quai de l’industrie.

351

a baSeMent along the railWay WorkS aS acouStic Defining the character of the exiSting Street front

flexible Space, able to accoMMoDate the flooD of the river

atelier 56S 16 rue eugène carrière 75018 pariS, france t. +33 608620344 56.S.atelier@gMail.coM WWW.atelier56S.coM

352

specific indetermination

team point of view after determining the project’s approach to urban morphology, we began the proposal on the river crossing the site, and introduced components that define the adaptability of a building and urban fabric. capacity volumes are defined by program: parking at ground level, offices along railroads and residential inside the urban block. the buildings are designed to offer maximum possibilities for use and definition. the project will include its own capacity to evolve.

to define this adaptability, we propose six rules: - thickness - indeterminacy - evolution - union / Division / extension - transposability - participation

jury point of view the project is designed on the right scale, determining sociable spaces by incorporating the natural components of the site. however, the project does not fulfil the brief in terms of mobility (connection to the station). and it shows a certain rigidity in the housing stratification: three-storey housing on quai de l’industrie, two-storey housing in the inner blocks three-storey offices along the railway.

353

Walk the line

team point of view the arrival of railways has deeply influenced the urban development of ciney. the town is developing progressively toward the train station. this focus of urbanization along ‘rue du commerce’ allows commercial activities to combine with the main pedestrian flows. to initiate a change in the way the town is used, we propose a new way to stroll between the historic centre and the train station. this greenway gives a new view of ciney. the proposed route proposed passes through the project site from east to west crossing different areas, a topographical break near the former quarries, the industrial docks connected with ciney’s forges, the greenway, the leignon, a new trucking road from the concrete factory and finally the railways.

jury point of view the project offers an interesting urban design approach (study of a connection to the historic centre through a loop route) and the overall originality of a strong project. however, while the intellectual method may be approved, the project is undermined by disproportions and inconsistencies (administrative centre disproportionate to anticipated demand, the bridge overlooking the railway is too big, offices with blind facades that cannot be converted into housing…).