Leisure Water Uses As Urban Commons : A Play Element in Metropolitan Brussels

LEISURE WATER USES AS URBAN COMMONS A Play Element in Metropolitan Brussels

Matteo Lunetta

Author Matteo Lunetta (matteo.lunetta.95@gmail.com) Date January 2021 Academic Supervisors Prof. Dr. Burak Pak Drs. Hulya Ertas Studio Urban Commons International Master of Science in Architecture KU Leuven, Faculty of Architecture, Campus Sint-Lucas Brussels Paleizenstraat 65-67, 1030 Brussels

LEISURE WATER USES AS URBAN COMMONS A Play Element in Metropolitan Brussels

Matteo Lunetta

Acknowledgments I would like to address my special thanks To my supervisors, Burak Pak and Hulya Ertas, for their continuous support and dedication during this exceptional time.

To Paul SteinbrĂźck from Pool Is Cool and Jean-Jacques Jungers for their insights and contributions.

In remembrance of Doyel Vasudeo, who graduates together with us, through the work of her fellow students.

CONTENTS Introduction Introduction Abstract

9

10

Aims, Research Questions, Methods

11

I - Theoretical Framework Right to the city

14

Urban Commons

15

Leisure in the city

16

The concept of Play

18

Water uses in Brussels

22

II - Case Study: Van Eyck’s Playground Aldo Van Eyck’s playgrounds

32

Waterplay

40

Analysis

42

III - Water Interaction Water Interaction

46

Bellamy Play-Pond

52

Tainan Spring

54

Temporary Pools

58

Jardin Portuaire

62

Conclusion

66

IV - Urban Strategy Understanding the existing

70

Urban Strategy

84

V - Pacheco Centre The Site

90

Historical Context

Future of the Site

92

Short Movie

98

102

Project Intentions

124

Connecting

128

VI - Architectural Proposal

Commons as a Local Strategy

Program

130

134

Redefining a Common Square

A Space for Commoning Connection Staircase

Circular & Bio-Climatic Answer

148

154

Free Play Space

142

162 166

VII - Conclusion Conclusion

174

VIII - Appendix List of Figures Bibliography

182 184

INTRODUCTION This master dissertation was elaborated in the framework of the ‘Urban Commons’ studio directed by Prof. Dr. Burak Pak and Drs. Hulya Ertas. Their insights and our collective reflection lead me to investigate new ways to weave spaces in the city based on more collective actions. It also impelled me to reflect on the public-private dichotomy to suggest alternative ways to think the city with the prism of Urban Commons spaces.

As a matter of information, the current reflexion was elaborate during the covid-19 international pandemic which did influence in positive and negative aspects the present research.

This master thesis investigates the topics of Water and Play as transformative and socio-interactive tools in Brussels metropolitan area. Some additional motivations linked to the resilient and refreshing values of water, will also be tackled to improve the urban context of Brussels.

In the first part, theoretical concepts of Right to the city, Leisure, Play and Water Interactions will be put in place.

Subsequently, The role those concepts might play in urban planning strategies is then analysed.

In the second part, several examples of projects which shaped modern cities are explored. Those cases studies focus firstly on the Urban Play component of the theoretical framework. The second case study research addresses formal design proposals linked to human water linked-behaviours in the intention to clarfiy the notion of water interactions.

In the third part, an urban strategy will be put in place. The proposal aims to suggest solutions to tackle an urban resolution to the lack of Water and Play spaces by critically mapping the metropolitan capital.

In the fourth part, the site will be suggested and a contextual and historical analysis will be established.

As a final and fifth part, based on the compiling of all the previous parts, an architectural proposal will be presented and will look at issues connected to potential tactics linked to Common Spaces, and the Water-Play connections.

­| INTRODUCTION

9

ABSTRACT As a way to understand the connection Brussels’ inhabitants have toward Urban Leisure spaces, 2 themes, Play and Water are utilized as prisms to analyse the territory. Those two components of the landscape are complimentary tools which are shaping present metropolitan ‘non-work’ activities.

[Leisure] Derived from Marxist theories and being directly related to work activitiy, Leisure is usually seen as recreational free-time. Used as a way to relax and empower individuals, the real role of leisure has actually been set by Taylorisation processes aiming to control factory workers’ productivity. By managing their free-time and recreational activities, it allowed factory managers to organise greater productivity rates.

The most famous example might be Mussolini, dopo lavoro society. But another essential role of Leisure is linked to childhood. By allowing freetime dedicated to activites which don’t produce anything but experiences, it creates a transformative educative role enacted by the process of play.

[Play] Described as futile and loss of time, Play is theoretically defined as being an essential activity for children’s development. It is indeed, the act of playing which forges us to adulthood, giving us the sensorial and social tools to fully apprehend the world. Through Play, by entering into an imaginary abstraction of reality, the player processes concepts and general rules. For this, a transitional object is needed to reassure and ritualise the act of Play. With its materiality, it performs as an interface which allows the participant to cross the threshold of reality.

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­| INTRODUCTION

[Water] Being essential to life, water played an important role in shaping Brussels through its interactions. People have always used water as a sociointeractive tools but water is also a perfect material involved in Play. Pools, fountains and even rain have been used for centuries as recreational ways to interact with water. Its abstract colour and shape properties induce multiple uses and therefore makes it a perfect transitional object for Play. This is why water, used as an interactive Play tools This will be the focus of the present research proposal of this project.

[Project] In the intent to invoke new water-play spaces in Brussels, and after a meticulous inventory and understanding of the territory, the project proposes to situate itself on the Pacheco State Administrative Centre.

Being seen as the monofunctional office and work space of Brussels per se, its localisation has the potential to reinforce an existing Water-Play network in the pentagon. By introducing those components in the area, it tends to reactivate the abandoned square into a socio-interactive tool attracting passersby on site. This is furthermore put in place with the implementation of a new pavilion hosting communing practices. The introduction of a space permitting local social gathering act as bottom-up process to reintroduce antihegemonic control of the square while connecting local users into a community of commoners.

The socio-interactive components of Water-Play infrastructures have great potentialities which will be researched and materialised in the current proposal.

Aims _Understand the Leisure infrastructure of Brussels and induce a new network of transformative and non-prospective Play behaviours linked to water interaction. _Reconsider a capitalistic project intention into a more local and neighbourhood sized anti-hegemonic and inclusive proposal shaped around commoning practices of Water and Play management.

Research Questions _What define the concepts of Leisure and Play in contemporary metropolitan settings?

_Rethink the water management system to locally collect and use rainwaters and transform water as a resource of Play, Refreshment and social-gathering element.

_What can be retained from urban water interactions performances while allowing potentialities for non-prospective and transformative Play behaviours?

_Imagine a Refreshment and Leisure space (urban beach) designed to counter local heat-islands issues in Brussels.

_How to design an activating project, on a public plaza, for a local community of commoners with the intention to define an inclusive and free space?

Methods _Analyse case studies to understand the capacity of Water-Play as a tool to shape common spaces. _Question theoretical concepts Leisure, Play and Water Interactions

of

_Question urban Play and Leisure infrastructures and rethink new ways of inclusive transformative Play spaces.

_How to rethink the urban water management system of Brussels to make it enjoyable for transformative Play and Leisure behaviours while allowing refreshment and circular management of the resource ? _How to foster an Urban Commons community in the modernist and hegemonic Pacheco Administrative Centre of Brussels

_Understand Brussels’ water system and ways to enjoy water interactions in the scope of fostering Play and sociointeractive potentials.

­| INTRODUCTION

11

1. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

RIGHT TO THE CITY The present reflexion was greatly inspired by the Right to the City movement initiated by Lefebvre in 1968.

In contemporary urban context, it is noticeable that some rights are revoked and neoliberal actions are fragmenting and privatizing furthermore Western cities. Brussels, as the ‘capital’ of Europe, didn’t escaped this widespread paradigm.

[Minorities] Also, it is even more perceptible if we look at minorities.

There is indeed less accessibility to the neoliberal market goods and services as wells as public infrastructures if you are part of a minority groups.

Neoliberal markets tend to favour certain individuals. Those minorities include women, people of colours, queers, economically weak inhabitants, homeless citizens, disabled individuals, transmigrants, ethnically discriminated persons and people of elder age.

[Inclusive Strategy] For this reason, new ways of imagining a more inclusive and philanthropic city needs to be put in place. We should dream of urban spaces for inhabitant and users, and not for shareholders.

[Lefebvre] All these attacks are prohibiting more and more citizens to fully enjoy the city they inhabit. It is not a novel process, Lefebvre already described those mechanisms in the 70’s.

[Resisting] A revolutionary group and somehow anti-capitalistic thinkers and urbanists asked for more rights for people in the city. They were reunited around the Right to the city movement and represented by Lefebvre, Mitchell,

Harvey, Purcell, Dikec and Jacobs. They did not ask for more rights in the judicial sense, but to allow people to fulfil particular basic urban needs. A more socially driven city, less merchandised, accessible for minorities.

[Right to the city] For Lefebvre, it is crucial to reinvent social interrelations to capitalism and spatial structure of the city. The concept of ownership, is for him a real problem. As he posits, the city needs to furthermore belong to its users in a global interest for society. For him, a spatial resistance to confront spatial hegemony is needed. He explains, that the city is not a spatial material but more feeling of urban space as a physical context to practice everydayness (Lefebvre, 1968).

[Heterotopic space] He also posits the notion of heterotopia. It is defined as being the ‘‘delineates liminal social spaces of possibility -where ‘something different’ is possible’’ (Purcell, 2009).

For him diversity of space is a crucial urban interactions.

[Appropriation] He also manifests the need for appropriation. It is, he says a way to reinvent generic spaces into new usable spaces. This notion is crucial in modern urban planning.

[Commons] It is possible to read in Lefebvre and Right to the city movement an ideation promoting a common good. A way to create more distributed opportunities to a wider proportions of the population. This idea of common good generated the pre-existing principles of Urban Commons.

“The right to the city is like a cry and a demand, a transformed and renewed right to urban life.”

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­| THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Lefebvre H., 1968. Le droit à la ville (Paris : Anthopos)

URBAN COMMONS It is in 1980, that the concept of Urban Commons is firstly employed, as an increasing proportion of the population set foot into urbanities.

Common is defined as an intermediate space between public and private. A private space belongs to its owners only.

A public realm belongs to everybody without any exceptions. The concept of common is situated halfway in between those two notions of spaces. It is a place where a group of people is sharing and managing a resource. They are as open as public but involve particular commonly fixed rules. It produces an intermediate gathering spaces, creating a boundary of action, an exchange of ideas.

[Threshold] The threshold act ‘as door, to separate but also connect to the outside’ (Stavrides, 2015). For Turner, the border and rites accompanying allow the ‘change of status’, it forms an ‘act of detachment’ to a previous position. Such initiation rituals, allow new social links between individual and therefore ‘give rights and obligations’ (Turner, 1969).

Those spaces started to emerge as counter-hegemonic way to control spaces. They act as gathering spaces which resist ‘the city forces of ordering and controlling’ (Stavrides, 2015).

ol

Res

toc

sou

Pro

rce

[Properties] A common space is theorized as being a sharing a resource with a group of people, considered a community. The community regulates this resource through protocols.

Particular processes prohibit the accumulation of power in such places.

[Permeability] Common spaces don’t belong to a group but belong to everybody. Some conditions such as proximity regulates the proportions of the community. The resource belongs to direct users and a broader community of ‘not-yet-users’. Willingly, this boundary is kept porous but some conditions of entrances are usually solve with the act of negotiation.

URBAN COMMONS

Commoners

­| THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

15

Fig. 1 - Hofstade urban beach (Source: Edition L’Heembeckoise, Bruxelles)

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­| THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

LEISURE IN THE CITY The concept of leisure is an easy notion to understand. It is defined as the recreational and non-work activity in ones’ schedule. These activities demand individual implication, and therefore are intentional process which allocated sense of control. This free time offers a feeling of stability and encourages community integration (Caldwel 2011). Usually leisure activities act as a container of positive experiences which involve no sort of productive components.

[Role of Leisure] Recreational activities inherent in leisure don’t imply only ‘frivolity but also take part in important developmental and health implications’ (Caldwel 2011). Indeed, they are part the growing-up process of children, if the experimental factor is present. This notion is exploited by the Montessori learning process and is spread worldwide while common recognition is devoted to a new way of learning without having the impression to do so.

[Non-work time] If we analyse closely the notion of Leisure it is actually defined as being the contrast of working time. Etymologically, the word Leisure comes from Latin Licere meaning to be allowed or lawful to. This means there is an intrinsic component of control and manipulation associated.

It has been used in industrial societies for a productive manipulation as a Taylorisation process. Mussolini doppo lavoro society features the best known example (Dawson, 2016). ‘Marxists have continually stressed the role that leisure plays in adjusting the working class to a subordinate position of capitalist society. Rojek accurately posits Leisure relations are held to create the illusion of freedom and self-determination which is the necessary counter balance to the real subordination of workers in the labour process’ ( Dawson, 1999).

[Social Fracture] As leisure is defined by work relations, it plays a organisation role in ‘class’ structuration.

‘Social class does not exist per se but social stratification effect do. Indeed, working class neighbourhoods with generic popular culture and leisure patterns develop quite apart from the higher status middle or upper class areas where the factory owners live’ (Dawson, 1999). Leisure is influenced by a variety of factors: age, sex, wealth. This is why the owners of greater economic resources have additional opportunities of wider leisure schedule time and variety. For Dawson, ‘leisure and class are inextricable intertwined’.

[Exclusion] For this instance, as a way to impose ‘class’ distinctions and foster class solidarity. Members often engage in activities that exclude other socio-cultural groups. It is admirably represented in activities such golf or polo but also in boys clubs or fraternity groups. It is also a way to demonstrate a social status :‘spending on leisure to show their wealth act as increasing the level of prestige arising from occupational level.’

(Rose, 2016) [Leisure at stake] The democratisation of leisure and holidays helped the lower range of the socioeconomic spectrum enjoy furthermore recreational activities but leisure is still ‘tied to economic, politic and sociocultural status’ (Rose, 2016). It leads to some individuals eliminating leisure activities of their life due to the lack of time, money, space or other resources.

This issue is even more preoccupying as the ‘middle class’ is constantly shrinking.

We do not need to forget that access to leisure should remain a fundamental right, independent of one’s financial situation.

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THE CONCEPT OF PLAY Everybody play and everybody have played in their childhood. It is indeed the logical path of every human and animal being. We start our lives with play behaviours which helps us forge tools to comprehend our relatives and surroundings. But what is the exact role of play ?

[Role of Play] Instinctively, as we play, we feel it is an entertaining and enjoyable activity. But for Huizinga, Play is not only a foolish moment of bewilderment, ‘It is somekind of ritual process which produces a transformative performance’.

It helps ordering the state in the mind and ‘acts for health development and self-expression’ (Caldwell, 2011). The process allows sense of achievement while taking risks and questions social interactions. It can also help to educate about problems and conflicts solving, ‘it is both integration and differentiation, a sage place to try out’ (Caldwell, 2011).

It creates the interface which makes possible relational, cultural and physical exchanges. It helps the child to develop a sense of identity, and position him in society. But playing is also an ‘act of creation’ as well as a performance of interpretation and abstraction. It helps oneself to escape the reality, creating an utopian and fantastic world. The logic is not consistent enough as way to embrace life as whole, a bit fantasy and dream is needed.

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For Huizinga, play retains a primary role of one’s personal and educational development. Huizinga also posits the 3 main characteristics of Play: voluntary, exceptional moment, timely spatial determination.

[Voluntary] Play is a voluntary activity part of the essential process of growing-up. It creates the opportunity to transition and connect with other individuals. Play provides a safe space which is universal and instinctive.

Conferred by self-determination and free-will, it is the active action to emerge into a novel status of looseness and instability. It allows an experimental sensing and questioning of one’s environment and social relations. As a result, a child develops behavioural and emotional autonomy. The fact it is voluntary and an ‘internally motivated activity tends to make it more likely to be sustained over time’ (Tyssot, 1950). It allows, as Winnicott describes it, a Space for Potentialities which can be approached and gives visitors the responsibility to emerge into this act of Play. The voluntary factor also gives meaning to the playing process. It is a way to introduce decision-making choices in the developmental process as a transformative and powerful tools for the future adult. It is in itself not an end but more a mean to an end seeking its own purpose.

Fig. 2 - Play: an imaginative abstraction of reality (Source: De Spiegel)

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[Special moment] Play is moment of looseness, based on a conception of reality. It creates a portal, exiting from ordinary life, allowing an imaginative interlude. It also is detaching from an ‘appetitive process, seeking an onlyfor-fun aim’ (Huizinga, 1950). Play is a way to abstract oneself from reality to submerge into a new world ruled by elected constraints, a simplified and abstracted representation of the existing. It ‘brings a temporary, a limited perfection’ (Huizinga, 1950). These rules allow the interacting individual to appropriate and shape his own imaginary, making it a safe place for experimental involvements (concept of sandbox).

The actor ‘lies in between the antithesis of wisdom and folly’ (Caldwell, 2011).

The experiencer is therefore authorized to cross the threshold of reality and interact only with the element he wants to address.

[Specific place and time] Play is usually practiced in particular places called playgrounds. It is also usually enjoyed in a precise window of time.

This is mainly due to the fact Play needs to separate from ordinary life, and therefore needs a consecrated spot and schedule to initiate the ritual of transition. For Van Eyck, space and time were not consistent enough to define Play, he introduced the concept of place instead of space and occasion instead time. The duration of Play and the withdrawal from the imaginary world, is fixed by the player himself. Sometimes, an act of playing can be repeated in time.

The repetition, unproductive task in the real world, is an important characteristic

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­| THE CONCEPT OF PLAY

in the operation. It authorize to revive previous feelings while trying to interpret and control them.

[Play vs Game] The act of playing is mainly an individual process of oneself. The concept of game is actually resumed by social play. Board games, footballs and other collective activities are usually incorrectly described with the term play but game do suffer different properties from play. With the notion of game and social interaction the competitiveness factor adds-up. This now create the idea of an aim in the performance which perverts the act of playing. Indeed, in solitary play, winning had no inherent sense. The experimental action of confronting to yourself is also confiscated. The ‘cosmogonic nature of the questioning is also lost. What makes water run ? Where does the wind comes from? What is death?’ (Huizinga, 1950) All these questions are not asked anymore as you have another aim to achieve. The competitiveness and creation of groups also start involving other issues such as exclusion and prestige. This corrupts the naivety of the play-spirit .The rules are not fixed anymore by oneself, but imposed by the group, it creates new constraints. Winnicott also posits that play sometimes involves ‘sexual dualism, a female and male division’. Girls and boys are therefore separated to play with dolls on one side and football on the other side. It creates exclusion and sometime competition in between cis genders. An example could be the condition of women in the ancient Greek version of Olympics Games.

[Transitional Object] In Play behaviours, the interaction object (stick, fabric, plastic toy, ball ...) replace the role of the parental guidance. It is indeed the extension of the mother’s surveillance and security (Klein, 1953).

It keeps the connection while the physical presence of the parents is distanced and accompany the player in the risky business of his experiences. It is the interface which allow play, made from a combination of the mind and the physicality of the object. ‘The physicality of the interface allow directness and facilitate awareness while maintaining the complexity and richness of the evolving system’ (Franovic, 2018).

The object gets even more powerful if the abstraction of shape and material properties can evoke several meanings.

The imaginative characteristic invoked, are then multiplied, they trigger several existing meaning and permit even more adaptative Play behaviours.

[Culture] The notions of Play is older than culture. In fact, it is the foundational component of culture.

Indeed, civilisation was established with the help of interactions, some of them might have been instinctive Play interactions. Also, in a community of social players, the community of players which is shaped by the game, could start sharing and shaping a subculture. Physical, intellectual, moral and spiritual values raised in play made it to the cultural level of society.’ ‘At adulthood, the transformative factor of play is usually conveyed by cultural experiences (involving art, religion, or philosophy)’(Franovic, 2018).

For example, music emerged from play practices, as a voluntary acceptance and application of strict rules to create rhythms. Contemporary art, with its playfulness and questioning of the reality was also impulsed by play characteristics.

It is an emergence of some kind of child innocence to represent the world.

[Architecting Play] To design a Playspace, some characteristics need to be taken into account. In order to create the intentional purpose inherent to the act of playing, an interactive system needs to trigger some interests toward its public. For this reason, the materiality of this interface should allow exchange and curiosity. The scale need to be appropriate for a comfortable interaction or it could limit the use. Once the interest is triggered, the explorative experiences need to be shapes. As Van Eyck described them, they should be non-proscriptive and imaginative, and allow a questioning and transformation of one’s personal behaviour. Van Eyck also posited that the place and moment to introduce the play tools are crucial.

Lastly, the environment act as interface which question but an ever changing context could destabilize and frighten the user. In any case, the subjectivity of the interaction intrinsic of the player makes it hardly to predict nor interpret if a design would work or not.

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WATER USES IN BRUSSELS Water has played a structural role in shaping the city of Brussels. Back in the 1900, the city was totally fragmented by its watercourses. The image we have nowadays of Bruges or Ghent, was actually similar to Brussels at that time.

Few major elements did changed it to what is it right now such as the vaulting of the Zenne/Senne and the creation of the Brussels-Charleroi Canal.

In this chapter, the scope will be oriented towards the understanding of water elements present in Brussels. It will also understand the shaping faculties and socio-spatial interactions they can trigger. An historical development of water uses will executed to grasp the socio-cultural impacts linked to the management of water resource components.

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[Fountains] From the XVI century and maybe even before, fountains took the role of the Zenne/Senne and played a major part in providing neigbourhoods in local drinkable water. They were also main exchange places with markets: those gathering spaces allowed discussion while collecting the necessary water for basic needs. Some of those fountains are pretty well known nowadays but most of them disappeared with time.

For example, the fountain situated on the Grand Place vanished in 1767 during the renovation of the Maison du Roi. The Mannekenpis also had a vocation to supply a neighbourhood in water, not being like today, an attraction for a myriad of tourists.

A good example to shortly understand the concept, is Berlin (see figure on the adjacent page). The wall and separation of the city, induced the construction of two separate water management systems.

When the wall was teared apart, the two metastructures were connected together through huge blue and pink pipes.

Those are still visible nowadays. The structural and interactive role it invoked and the role it plays in the city today, is to my concern, an interesting and thought provoking concept to reflect on. The same reflection will be intended on the global history of water interaction in Brussels.

Fig. 3 - Etching of Mannekenpis (1697) (Source: De Fonteinen van Brussel)

The first known use of water of the history of Brussels is the Senne/Zenne.

The inhabitants enjoyed the watercourse for bathing and supply them in water for basic needs.

After the years as the water network was put in place in 1900, fountains lost their utility, only providing decorative characters to the city. Since then, they fell into a relative forgetfulness.

­| WATER USES IN BRUSSELS

Fig. 4 - Location of the Administrative Centre (Source: www.morethangreen.com)

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Paid Holidays Car Era - 1960

Use of Fountains

1771

Law against swimming in Zenne

1831 1832 1848 & 1849

Cholera Pandemic Charleroi Canal Cholera Pandemic

1864 1866

First Public Bath Vaulting of Zenne

1902

First Shower Pavillion

1930 1931

Invention of Swimwear G.Brunfaut plan

1934 1935

Evere Solarium (1978) Daring Solarium (1950)

1939

Building of Hofstade

1950

Bikini is popular

1980

Building Communal Pools

2013 2016 2021

Kanal Plan Canal Pool Is Cool ? .........

Water Management Plan (PGE) 2002

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­| WATER USES IN BRUSSELS

Phase I Hygienism 1860 - 1900 Water / Sanitation

(Security / Nudity)

Phase II Hygienism 1930- 1955 Water / Air / Sun

Running Water - 1900

1500

[Cholera Pandemics] In 1831 and 1848 but also in 1849, several cholera pandemics shook the city. At that time, the city is living a demographic boom due to its industry . The poor conditions of living and hygiene pushed the government and city councils to search for a way to stop and prevent those pandemics. As a response, after discovering the therapeutical role of water, thanks to the work of Pasteur, in the end of the XVIII century, water became an essential element for personal hygiene. An effort was realised by the city to supply all neighbourhood in water and a sewage system was put in place. It is also at that time in 1866, that Anspach start vaulting the watercourses of Brussels in the effort to sanitize the city. It is the first hygienism period.

[Public Baths] In 1869, the Superior Council for Public Hygiene voted to endow the introduction of public cleaning facilities. This is how the concept of public baths appeared in Brussels. The idea, inspired by the Frederick Street Bath and Washhouse, was imported from London where it was invented in 1842.

From this date, people start taking baths in hospitals (Saint-Jean, Saint-Pierre) at first then in the newly build public baths.

The first one will be built in the popular and poor neighbourhood of Marolles, Les Bains Economiques were designed by W.Janssens in 1854. He would plan 60 baths but only 37 will be built (30 for men, 7 for women). They will suffer from a huge success, 8.000 entries in the first year. They were demolished in 1953 due to their poor condition.

[Public Showers] In the meanwhile, the concept of shower is appearing in Germany in 1887. Used in the military caserns, the tepid shower is felt to be the bath of the future. On the Place du Jeu de Balles in the Marolles and linked to the cité Hellemans proposal (1905), a more economic showers proposal will take place. A waiting room leads to a

corridor deserving 9 cabins with private cloakroom. Exclusively authorised for men, the price of 15cents, it comprises soap, towel and 15min access to the shower. In 1903, a second pavilion of ‘Bains-douches populaires’ is inaugurated on the Rue de Clé, 18. Most of public shower and baths building were destroyed after the personal bathroom was invented in the 1960’s.

[Second hygienism movement] In 1934, a second wave of hygienism hit the country. Promoting access to air, water and sun, the city starts building Solariums. It is at that time that the notion of leisure and relaxation start to become important. The paid holidays introduced in 1936, start to turn pools into recreational places. The solarium of Evere and Daring Solarium of Molenbeek are then designed and built. Both building won’t last long and in the 60’s, due to economic problems , bad weather and car allowing people to travel, the solarium are definitely closed.

Fig. 5 - Daring Solarium (Source: www.reflexcity.net)

[Communal Pools] It is in the same period of the construction the first bathhouse, that the first covered swimming pool was opened in 1879.

The Bain Royal, in Notre-Dame-Aux-Neiges district, mainly for the bourgeoisie was demolished in 1969.

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At the that, the only hygiene measure taken was to empty the pool once a week. During winter the pool was covered with wooden boards and used as party hall and theatre. The second pool, Bassin de L’abattoire, was constructed in 1901 and alimented by water from the Canal. From this point, pools will emerge as the educational and sportive infrastructure. A huge educational program trained pupils to swim. In 1890 swimming clubs also appear, first for the bourgeoise then it got popularised.

As political argument, city administrator start to build communal pools from the 1930’s to content their electors. It will peak until the 90’s. Since then few new pools were open and renovated. To this day no open-air pool are present on the territory of brussels.

[Bathroom] In 1890, basic sanitation was done in a basin or a bucket in the middle of the living room. As running water was installed in the city from 1900, a particular apart room was introduced in the housing. The primary bathroom featured a toilet, a tub, a water heater and a shower. 60 years later, in 1960, only 70 percent of the houselholds had a basic bathroom, the rest still used public showers. It is only in the 70’s and 80’s that the bathroom becomes the norm.

At that time, bathhouses start to vanish as the use set off.

[Bikini] In the XVIII century, people bath into the Zenne/Senne in their birthday suit. Indeed, it is mainly because of nudity problem and prudishness, that bathing is forbidden in the Brussels watercourses. In 1900, the swimming costume is invented. It is composed of a big piece of fabric covering the full body. In 1920, for practical reason and to be able to swim, arms and legs are uncovered. A major turn is made in 1932 when Louis Réart, conceive the bikini.

First unpopular, it will become the norm in the 50’s.

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[Hofstade] In 1934, as a part of the second hygienist movement, G. Brunfaut designs a urban strategy of public pools for Brussels. Numerous ideas emerged from this global proposal and new open-air swimming pool solutions were envisioned. None of his suggestions were built except the notion of openair urban beach, which made his way to Victor Bourgeois and what is today known as Hofstade. The beach around a lake had a huge moment of success in the 70’s but is nowadays too inaccessible and unattractive and barely survives.

[Kanal Plan Canal ] In 2013, the city decided to develop the area around the Canal which was mostly industrial ground with low value. Since then major projects such as Beco Park and Gijs Van Vaerenbergh proposal for a new park connecting the citizen back with their canal.

[Pool is Cool] Since 2012, the nonprofit organisation tends to question the inhabitants around water features.

Proposing temporary water interaction elements and projects of open-air swimming pools they refreshed the landscape of water related elements of the last decades.

[PGE] The Plan de Gestion des Eaux or Water Management Plan was put in place 2002 as proposal to respond to the bad water quality of the Canal and Senne /Zenne. Thanks to this plan a better management of the watercourses is planned. Several proposal such as the reopening of the Zenne/ Senne in Anderlecht were realised.

[Urban Water Management] In Brussels, a complex infrastructure of distributive pipes and collecting sewages processes is constitutive of the water management system. In the lower part of the Brussels’ valley, the sewage, which collects the rainwaters and waste water

indifferently, overfloods frequently. This hydric system which doesn’t separate the rain water is particularly poorly thought.

The drinkable water is majorly captured in La Meuse and in the Hoyoux sources (Huy) or in other part of the Hainaut. Other sources are forgotten about as they don’t serve any particular function nowadays. Most of their waters are directly discharged in ancient watercourses (Molenbeek, Maelbeek, Geleystbeek) which are ultimately directed in the collectors.

Rainwaters, which fall on the urban permeable surfaces: roofs, courtyards, roads and sidewalk, are drained directly in the sewage system also.

For those reasons, when it rains, the amount of water introduced in the sewers is overloading and overfloding, to an extent some part of the Canal area flood. In the 70’s, a storm basins were put in place to try to solve the problem. As a consequence, rainwaters are conveyed to the water treatment facilities with the grey waters. Both of them are treated and discharged into the hydrographic network leading to the North Sea. During major rainfalls, the sewers overflood and use the canal and Zenne/ Senne as a storm basin. This reflux is the major factor of pollution (faeces / grey water, laundry soap).

While treating the rainwater as a waste, by throwing it in the sewage system, it actually creates more problems. The rainwater is a free and safe resource which is totally neglected. A greater awareness could help to rethink the system and provide circular and resilient solutions. (Both of those cycles, the actual linear water cycle and a revisited circular water cycle are presented on the following pages)

[Water needs] If we think of water as a resource in the global world, its access for sanitation and basic needs involvement is not dispensed to everybody. Indeed, drinking water is not accessible to a growing number of people (estimated to around 1.4 billion).

On the other hand, in modernised Western countries, the resource is usually misused and spilled. Some issues connected to pollution are also huge concerns. This is why in 2001, a college of specialists lead by Riccardo Petrella publicly addressed the subject. The idea was to research and propose easy solutions to help distribute basic access to the resource in poorer countries while solving some misuses in more developed societies. Subsequently after, Riccardo Petrella published a book, The Water Manifesto, which is now a global reference. The scope of the book extended the research and theorized the notion of water as common good.

He expresses some real concerns about the unconsidered topic of basic water uses and tries to alert the scientific and political actors.

The lack of basic water access, is still present in nowadays Brussels. Poorer families, transmigrants and homeless individuals still suffer from it. On the hand, the water management system present in Brussels does not value the Rainwater as its real merit. Another climatic concerns is reinforcing this issue leading to droughts during summer months. This is why an understanding about the water management system will be established in the following paragraphs.

[Conclusion] Water has influenced the landscape of urban Brussels in history. Some potentialities to resolve current issues with water-related systems are envisioned in a near future.

­| WATER USES IN BRUSSELS

27

LINEAR WATER USE Rainwater

City Tap Water

0,0033 €/ L

Shower

Collected Rain Water

Washing Machine

Grey Water

Toilet

Black Water

Water = Waste

Water Distribution

Water Evaporation

Water = Waste

Kitchen Sink

Sewage Collector

Sewage Water Huge Rainfall / Storms : Collector overflows in Canal and Rivers

Storm Water

Water Treatment Facility Drinkable Water

Zenne Senne

Canal

URBAN WATER CYCLE

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­| WATER USES IN BRUSSELS

DRINKING WATER CYCLE

CIRCULAR WATER USE Rainwater

City Tap Water

0,0033 €/ L FILTRATION

Ground Percolation

Toilet

Washing Machine

Kitchen Sink

Grey Water

Sewage Collector

Water Distribution

Water Evaporation

Black Water

Shower

Sewage Water

Water Treatment Facility Drinkable Water

Zenne Senne

Canal

URBAN WATER CYCLE

DRINKING WATER CYCLE

­| WATER USES IN BRUSSELS

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2. CASE STUDY:

ALDO VAN EYCK’S PLAYGROUNDS

A. VAN EYCK’S PLAYGROUNDS To illustrate and understand the theoretical concepts of Play, Aldo Van Eyck’s playground masterwork will be critically studied in the next pages. His insights and insurgent designs were the concluding elements of the urban theory of Play. Indeed, to this date, no other notable research on the subject is as essential as what Van Eyck bestowed.

the neighbourhoods. The projects featured cheap concrete elements, a hardscape, some metal Play tools and few benches. The affordability and simplicity of the architectural concepts enabled the dissemination of the network. As it can be seen in some pictures, appropriation was also totally permitted which enacts the success of the ideation.

[Context] From 1947 to 1978, Aldo and his colleagues, imagined more than 700 playgrounds in Holland. On behalf of Amsterdam Department of Public Works, he imagined the biggest known network of built playground spaces. Set in the post-second-world-war context, where families had little access to their own outdoor grounds, the need of qualitative public spaces was exceptionally high.

The demand to gather and reinforce local communties was moreover increasing.

[Potentials] For Van Eyck, the opportunity was too great not to be taken. He reunited his colleagues and went searching for derelict and unused spaces in the city. Subsequently, they then started moulding those new urban spaces. After the war, a huge number of left-over space was available, mostly in familial suburban areas. With his generous act, he empowered the city and gave people access to the potential of urban leisure. This is why the proximity of the future users was essential and makes it a key component of the local strategy of Amsterdam’s playgrounds network.

[Layout] The composition of the playspaces was unambiguous: minimalist and geometrical positions had in mind to offer a modest and local answer for

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­| VAN EYCK’S PLAYGROUND

Fig. 6 - Municipal Orphanage Playground (Source: www.arcam.be )

[Free] One last component which conclude the success of those playspaces was the unfenced and free access to the site. For Aldo, the unprotected boundaries allowed children to comprehend the notions of risks and borders. The vigilance of an adult was always present. This allowed interactions between parents and created a safe environment allowing Play. The freeaccess and absence of rules authorised the playground to be an integrated public space granting inclusive access to every citizen without any notion of gender, age, skin colour and other distinctions.

Fig. 7 - Zaanhof Playground (Source: Amsterdam Archives)

­| VAN EYCK’S PLAYGROUND

33

34

­| VAN EYCK’S PLAYGROUND - Fig. 8

35 ­| VAN EYCK’S PLAYGROUND - Fig. 9

35

36

­| VAN EYCK’S PLAYGROUND

­| VAN EYCK’S PLAYGROUND - Fig. 10

37

38

­| VAN EYCK’S PLAYGROUND - Fig. 11

­| VAN EYCK’S PLAYGROUND - Fig. 12

39

40

­| VAN EYCK’S PLAYGROUND - Fig. 13 & 14

WATERPLAY As illustrated on the previous pictures, the work of Van Eyck was extensive and varied. From all this array an intriguing element is dawning. The emergence of water interaction elements is appearing in few isolated projects.

[Play] If Play is the main theme addressed by Van Eyck, some projects try the process of research by design to invent new ways of imagining such spaces. Around Play, all possibilities which involves primary non-proscriptive liminal interactions with a transitional object are investigated as a way to remodel spatial assets of playgrounds.

[Water Interaction] This is why, Aldo introduced the notion of waterplay in some of his proposals. Two layouts

are features on the adjacent page. They manifest the use of metal frames utilized as water distribution tubes creating a new object. The advantage that such a design offers is furthermore improved by the refreshment properties it addson. Water is used as a social magnet to confront children to new realities of the situation and allow adaptative behaviors.

[Potentials] The power of water interaction was not substantially used to its full potential. This is why on the basis of these two recusant examples, the matter of waterplay will be developed further in the project design. It also will provide a refreshing feature which will allow to solve some heat-islands issues present in the urban context of Brussels.

­| VAN EYCK’S PLAYGROUND

41

ANALYSIS As conclusion to the case study of Aldo Van Eyck’s playgrounds masterplan, some key notions will be summarised.

[Inclusive] All designed playgrounds were free of tariff and made no distinctions between users, creating an inclusive expression urban playspace.

[Leisure] His scope of intervention and generosity allowed the development of the Urban Leisure concept. The after-war context and potentials arisen by the numerous derelict hypothetical sites ensured the success of the urban strategy.

[Local / Common] In some sense, the envisioned public places, offered Urban Commons qualities. Those can be explained by the local integration of the playspaces and adaptative responses of the proposals. The fact the metal structures were used to dry the laundry or dust off the carpets, demonstrate appropriative behaviours relevant to common spaces. The scale of those gathering spaces and abstract formal materialisation granted several additional usages than those expected for Play. The small scale, relevant to the scale of the neighbourhood, tend to respond to a local resolution of the social interactions in the area.

[Abstract] The abstraction of the concept of Play allowed a greater freedom in the design processes.

For him, a non-proscriptive liminal interactions with a transitional object was the only way to define transformative Play. Several play tools, as shown on the following page, express his intentions and acted as a vocabulary he employed to adapt to local particularities. Those playtools are concrete geometric volumes, metals climbing components, sandpits and sometime water interactive elements.

Other servicing features such as bench, kerbs and vegetation supplemented the playspaces.

[Water Play ]A water play interaction was initiated in some of his proposals but didn’t reach a final research completion state.

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­| VAN EYCK’S PLAYGROUND

For those reasons, Van Eyck imagined, without realising it, Urban Commons Spaces in several Amsterdam neighbourhoods.

METAL FRAMES

SANDPITS

CONCRETE VOLUMES

Fig. 15 - 20 (Source: www.merijnoudenampsen.org)

­| VAN EYCK’S PLAYGROUND

43

3. CASE STUDY:

WATER INTERACTION

Fig. 21 - Two boys in a pool, Hollywood (1965) - D. Hockney

46

­| WATER INTERACTION

WATER INTERACTION To further develop to notion of water interaction, introduced in the theoretical framework and in the realisations of Van Eyck, the following chapter will research on water interaction potentialities.

[History] Since the beginning of times, humans have interacted with water elements. Water being the essential source of life, it always attracted living beings around its springs.

[Art] This attraction and tension around water is extensively represented in culture and arts. The adjacent page illustrate the famous serie of paintings produced by David Hockney in the 60’s.

This artist is known to represent pools as his main topics. Other numerous artists, do express with their artistic personalities the interaction between humans and water. The representation signify the importance of this topic.

[An element of Play] In Play behaviours, the transformative aspect introduced by transitional object is of real importance. For that reason, the characteristic of this object were defined to permit most of its transformative properties. An importance toward the non-prospective and imaginative abstraction of the object was called out.

For this reason, water could be envisioned as a play element, as an abstract medium allowing imagination and therefore transformative educational performances.

On the following pages, a more detailed deconstruction of the different ways of interacting with water is dispensed.

­| WATER INTERACTION

47

VISUAL The first and most obvious way to interact and enjoy water is visual. The sight of moving water helps calming the soul and create a well-being feeling. Sounds produced by water (like in waterfalls for example) also induce calming properties. The colour, transparency and reflections of the liquid adds even more qualities to the visual characteristics of water.

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­| WATER INTERACTION

These properties are used for embellishment since ancient times. Rich romans had decorative fountains and water basins in their patios.

The proximity to natural water also allows interaction with a particular fauna and flora present in it. This provide natural connexion experiences which is beneficial for the interacting user.

REFRESHMENT The cooling characteristic of water evaporation are known since ancient times. The fact romans had fountains for decoration purposes also created micro-climates in those patios spreading a refreshing breeze in their villas.

In urban settings, lakes and watercourses cool the surrounding environs to a significant and perceivable amount in warmer periods.

The contact of water with skin also creates a refreshing feeling. Indeed, for water to change state from liquid to water vapor, it absorbs the heat of the skin.

This process is commonly used during summer in hot climate; showers, baths and pools are taken daily to refresh.

Ice, as a solid and a cold state of water, is an additional property known to refresh our drinks in summer.

­| WATER INTERACTION

49

PLAY

50

One primordial interaction element which will interest the current research will be the Play potentials permitted by water. The abstract shape allowed by fluidity properties of the liquid makes it a wonderful transitional object for Play.

Finally, the movement and dynamism conveyed by the fluid, forces the interacting children to adapt and modify his state of mind toward its transitional object and therefore generate educational adaptative behaviours.

The transparency and therefore, absence of material presence reinforces this notion even more.

For all of these reasons, water is a perfect Play tool component.

­| WATER INTERACTION

SWIM Another apparent way of interacting with water is to completely submerge in the fluid. The contact with skin, the temperature but also the water resistance questions oneself position to its context.

During free-time, the recreational but also sportive action of swimming confer to the practitioner an experimental sense of enjoyment.

The fact of moving and floating with a deliberate will into the liquid, is majorly accepted as the notion of swim.

This swimming interaction needed to be taught at an early age or it could lead to some inadvertent accidents.

In Europe, swimming classes got introduced in 1900’s and until nowadays is part of primary education program.

In the following pages, a concrete visualisation of how interactions are architectured in real life is produced.

Those examples are ways to set foot in the designer’s eye towards imagining water interactions in urban settings.

­| WATER INTERACTION

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BELLAMY PLAY-POND/ J. MULDER Following the paths of Van Eyck’s legacy, Jakoba Mulder, designed this Play-Pond in the 50’s. Also belonging to the Ministry of Public Works of Amsterdam in the same era of Van Eyck, she was one part of this emerging social movement which allowed the rich Playscape spaces of Amsterdam.

This example on the Bellamy square, shows how she imagined a square as a social waterplay tools for the neighbourhood. This open-air playpond, as she describes, allowed families to gather during hot summer freetimes and refresh. Not only it provided refreshment but also, as Van Eyck

stated, a leisure space, a non-work space, in the city. The proximity and affordance of this non-fenced and local proposal, made this project extremely successful.

As it can be noticed, the design of such space is pretty minimal. The hardscape of the square is supplemented by a water feature – a pond, a fountain - but also some vegetation and benches. Those provide, as featured in Van Eyck’s work, the Existenzminimum for a successful surveillance but also for a social gathering of those families. The scale of the project also fits to the Lefebrevian vision of appropriation of the space and Right to the City mentality.

Fig. 22 - Plan of the Play-Pond (Source : Amsterdam City Archives)

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­| BELLAMY PLAY-POND

­| Fig. 23 & 24

53

TAINAN SPRING / MVRDV This project unveiled in late 2020 is of major interest. Realised by MVRDV, it was first set up by the Urban Development Bureau of Tainan City Government. Several factors make this new urban spaces a major reference.

Firstly, the urban context of the realisation is pretty similar to what most Western European city could face nowadays. The previous function of this mall building structure was not used anymore and therefore needed a reassignment. The decision was made to disassemble the building and make a romantic ruin with a more publicoriented function, a park. The mall equipments and structures were recycled and reintroduced back into the economy via exemplar circular processes.

The idea to keep the structure was not only cheaper and more environmentally friendly but a good way to maintain the history of the ancient mall. This also gives a particular industrial and urban vibe in this new way of building urban parks.

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­| TAINAN SPRING

The new function, a public park accompanied with a really innovative water feature was imagined to reconnect the citizens with nature and waterscape of their city. Not only greeneries were brought back in this derelict space of the city centre but also social interactions.

This was made possible by creating this urban beach where the capitalist leisure function of the mall was transformed into a more common, public, noncommercial park function.

The landscaping of the water basin and the ‘beach’ around make it is easy for people to appropriate. The fact that it is situated one level under the city street, makes it a protected pocket while still allowing people to overlook it.

­| Fig. 25

55

56

­| TAINAN SPRING - Fig. 26

­| Fig. 27 & 28

57

THYLO FOLKERTS TEMPORARY POOLS - JARDIN / POOL PORTUAIRE IS COOL Founded in 2014 by Paul Steinbrück, the non-profit organisation Pool is Cool is of real interest for Brussels. Questioning waterscapes and how they are used, Pool is Cool is helping the city forging a debate around its water features.

The main aim was to reflect and propose solutions for open-air swimming pools but their insight went way further. It didn’t only tackled the pool system and creation of new open-air structures, it went searching for potentialities in the existing city network. Most of the performances had a limited budget and a temporary time schedule. The participative management and construction of the temporary structures creates bonds in between the volunteers and their interaction helped develop an Urban Common resource management.

58

­| POOL IS COOL

Some of those examples are: swimming in La Cambre ponds, installing a temporary pool in a container in front of Bozar Museum, settling a sprinkler system to refresh or closing a roundabout to enjoy its fountain for a weekend.

All of those ideas are full of potentials.

They act as a social magnet and question the different unexploited usages that water component could reinvent.

Pool is Cool members also pushed the city to start testing water quality in natural water spaces, propelling a better water quality and rethinking nonrecreative water management.

This increasingly growing nonprofit organisation also proposed lately some consistent proposal for open-air swimming pools and its corresponding socio-economic protocols.

­| Fig. 29

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60

­| POOL IS COOL - Fig. 30 & 31

­| Fig. 32

61

THYLO FOLKERTS JARDIN PORTUAIRE - JARDIN / T. FOLKERTS PORTUAIRE In 2000, in the harbour of Le Havre, T. Folkerts, landscape architect, was commissioned by the city to help it sensitize to water issues.

His idea, was to collect water for the harbour and make it accessible to the passer-by. With this action, people could finally connect and play with the surrounding water. 80 plastic bags of 100L were filled and let on the quay for people to play with during 4 days.

As a consequence of this performance, a new way to interact with water was produced. Children were jumping on the fluid contained in solid bags imagining new play tool made from locally sourced resource. The designer learned how to collect and make use of an existing resource which was never reachable beforehand.

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­| JARDIN PORTUAIRE

‘‘Once filled with water, the soft, shiny, wobbly and warm pillows virtually asked visitors to touch, sit and jump on them.’’

T. Folkerts (Diedrich, 2006)

­| Fig. 33

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64

­| JARDIN PORTUAIRE - Fig. 34

­| Fig. 35 & 36

65

CONCLUSION As it is presented in the previous pages, the water interaction element is a crucial urban social-gathering tools. The different properties and interactions inherent to water in the multiplicity of its physical state is wide palette of components to be used for water related urban spaces.

[Sanitation] 4 types of relations to water exist: Visual, Refreshment, Play, Swim could be complemented with many others. The Sanitation and hygiene related use of water are not illustrated in the precedent analysis but do play a common role in the topical contemporary society. Knowing this, those notions will be pretty much left out from the project intentions.

[Research] Some interaction compounds such as Play and Refreshment and to a certain extent Visual will be more investigated by the project. The Swim and Sanitation aspects are too complex to grasp in the current design situation. The installation of a pool or water management system are indeed a real challenge made of a plethora technicalities which overcomes the scope and expertise available in this research.

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­| WATER INTERACTION

[Interconnectivity] The differentiate elements of water interactions can also work together. In the exposed references, it is clearly noticeable that water interactivity compounds could also build on each others. It is as well, in the same way difficult to design a water feature for one interaction component only. It is a mix of different ways of interactive water which could enhanced certain properties due to the spatial and contextual circumstances.

An abstracted visualisation of those concepts is presented on the next page.

VISUAL CONNECTION REFRESHMENT

Water

SWIM PLAY

­| WATER INTERACTION

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4. BRUSSELS:

URBAN STRATEGY

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­| MAPPING THE EXISTING

UNDERSTANDING THE EXISTING To critically comprehend the particularities present in the landscape of Brussels and therefore spot potentialities, an inventory of key infrastructures connected to the Leisure concept was established in the present chapter. As the focus of this research is oriented toward the notions of Leisure, Play and Water, some of those key infrastructures and networks were analysed.

[Leisure] When we talk about Brussels’ leisure spaces, parks and waterscapes are the first popping in mind. It is nowadays hard to say if those green and blue spaces where the product of nature or man-made endeavours. Nevertheless the status of those spaces, both are practiced daily by Brussels’ inhabitants. Luckily enough, the metropolis does feature a generous amount of parks and forests.

On the plan of Water components, several key elements are emerging such as the Brussels-Charleroi Canal or the Senne/Zenne. These elements played an important role in shaping the city. The vaulting of the Senne/Zenne was one of the most prominent and reknowned works.

[Play] Linked to parks and forests territories, playgrounds and outdoor sport facilities are most the second most used recreative components. Those are usually placed around open-landscape situations, mostly around or inside parks.

It is hard to map all of them as their small size and communal management keep them from being localised on the extensive territory.

The concomitant spatial distribution of playground and sport facility is interesting to notice, as if playground for kids demand facilities for grown-up

nearby. The size of both elements can vary a lot, but even the slightest Play / Sport infrastructure has an impact on how leisure is practiced in urban areas.

Some playgrounds are in poor states due to their age and lack of maintenance but the general distribution is pretty correct.

[Water] As about the water infrastructure -if we exclude the major water sources like ponds, rivers and canals - smaller elements such as sources, fountains and swimming pools do play an important role for the city. They don’t always connect directly to leisure spaces but do provide interactions with other components which play a major role. Sources for example, are irrigating bigger water infrastructures. They are the most neglected water feature nowadays.

Their position and streams were forgotten with time and few of them are still buried. To supplement sources, the modern fountains were placed to embellish mostly urban historical centres. Some of them do play a role in leisure activities during summer like the St. Catherine/St. Katelijn Basin. Swimming pools on their part are known and used for leisure activities. Even if the primary role was to teach how to swim and develop sportive swimming the direction taken by modern pools tend to orientate furthermore into leisure practices of water.

[Heat]To finalise our understanding about Leisure in the city, the way climate induce certain activities needs to be taken into account. For this reason, the heat distribution during summer months will be examined to try to propose a complimentary response to temper the impact of such heatwaves and the activity they prevent.

­| MAPPING THE EXISTING

71

NATURAL SPACES Brussels features a magnitude of different leisure and natural spaces.

Those are usually immense in size but smaller version of natural spaces do exist.

It is a hard task to determine what is considered as natural or man-made element of a landscape. For this reason the term natural will be defined as a permanent and landscaping component of the territory. A place which allow connection to natural elements such as trees, grass, water, wind. It is indeed the recreational aspect of those natural spaces which arise our interest.

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[Rivers and Canals] Few rivers flow in the region, the Zenne/ Senne is reminiscent is some areas of the city, most of its trail was vault due to hygiene problems, Maelbeek, Molenbeek and other small watercourses are also present but mostly hidden on the territory.

The Canal is the major element and its surrounding waterscape is currently being transformed due to the city impulse. The Chemetoff Kanal Plan Canal, started in 2012 and is leading to major beautification and gentrification projects.

[Parks]A wide networks of parks, some inherited by colonial past, is present in Brussels. Those green space usually nicely connected, do provide fresh air and calmness the busy city.

[Lakes and Ponds] Other water elements sometime connected to sources like lakes and ponds are shaping the city. The most reknowned are the Ixelles/Elsene ponds, Josaphat ponds, La Cambre ponds and Mellaert ponds

[Private Parks]The biggest parc of Brussels is a private park, the Royal Domain of Laeken. It is the place surrounding the Royal family palace and is therefore inaccessible.

[Hofstade]An important element of the landscape, imagined in the 70’s is the Hofstade lake and beach. The location , tariffs, and accessibility problems lead it to fall into disuse.

[Forests]The Sonian forest and the connected La Cambre forest is a primordial element in the regional landscape. Having a forest in the regional boundaries of a metropolitan city is indeed a lot of luck. This forest, is complemented by other smaller forest also situated in the periphery.

In the pentagon fewer of all these elements are featured. Most of the quoted natural components are present in the periphery.

­| MAPPING THE EXISTING

­| MAPPING THE EXISTING

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SOURCES Since ancient times, sources have been precious resources, providing free drinkable water. Since the last century, and the establishment of the water irrigation and sanitation system, the primordial interest for sources was lost.

This lead to a common forgetfulness of their historical presence and social gathering connections they allowed.

This water interaction was crucial in the ancient time as it permit social exchanges as we could nowadays envision on social media.

If we look closely at the distribution of sources most of them are situated in

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the urban periphery of the metropolis.

The current count is set to 62 sources in the regional border of Brussels. This number could vary in a near future as we are rediscovering some new ones lately.

The actual absence of those natural sources in the pentagon arises a real concern. Is it the concretisation of the city centre which doesn’t allow to spot them anymore ?

The modest streams and location won’t allow any real use of these sources nowadays but their historical presence should be remembered

Fig. 37 - Ganzenweidenbeek (5)

Fig. 38 - Royal Domain (10)

Fig. 39 - Marly Source (8)

Fig. 40 - St. Helène (28)

Fig. 41 - St.-Josse Church (23)

Fig. 42 - De Fré Av. S. (58)

­| MAPPING THE EXISTING

Sources 1.Source of Saint-Landry 2. S. of Keelbeek

19.S. of Paruckbeek #1

3. S. of Tweebeek #1

20.S. of Paruckbeek #2

4.S. of Tweenbeek #2

21.S. of Paruckbeek #3

5.S. of Ganzenweidenbeek

22.S. of Hof Ter Musschen

6.S. of Hembeek

23.S. of St.-Josse Church

7.S. of Meudon street

24.S. of Stuybeck

8.S. of Marly

25.S. of Malou Park

9.S. of Meudon Park

26.S. of Woluwe

10.S. of Royal Domain (private)

27.S. of Parc des Sources

36.S. of Peters’ College (private)

45.S. Rood Klooster

54.S. of Linkebeek

11.S. of Laerbeek

28.S. of Felix Hops

37.S. of Maelbeek

46.S. du Sylvain / Bosgees

55.S. of Peters’ College (private)

12.S. of Keelbeek

29.S. of Paulus Park

38.S. of Koevijver

47.S. l’Empereur / Keizerbron

56.S. of Peters’ College (private)

13.S. of Puits Léon XIII

30.S of Neerpede street #1

39.S. of Langewei

48.S. of 3 Fountains

57.Russian Embassy (private)

14.S. of Kerkebeek

31.S. of Scheldermaal street

40.S. of Calvaire /Golgotha

49.S. of Roodkloosterbeek

58.S. of De Fré Avenue

15.S. of Poelbeek

32.S. of Mellaerts Ponds

41.S. of Ter Coigne Park

50.S of AXA Domain

59.S. of Roosendael

16.S. of Doolegt Park

33.S. of Rietveld van Neerpede

42.S. of Jean Mussart Garden

51.S of Royal Domain

60.S. of Fond’ Roy

17.S. of Mulder Park

34.S. of Neerpede street #2

43.S. of Basse-court / Neerhof

52.S. des Enfants Noyés

61.S. of PappenKasteel (private)

18.S. Amour /Minneborre

35.S. Saint-Helène

44.S. des Pierres /Steenborre

53.S. of Vuylbeek

62.S. of Groelsbeek

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FOUNTAINS Build for embellishment purposes, fountains have a significant presence in urban settings as well as in our collective psyche. Every inhabitant could describe or define the nearest fountain they know. They exist in different colours, size and shapes.

A common distinction is accepted to separate the notion of fountain to the notion of basin. Both of them are manmade water interaction constructions but the word basin describes more precisely a bigger horizontal fountain while the word fountain generally depicts a more vertical and narrow construction.

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If we look at their distribution on the territory, the pattern indicates a greater presence in the centre of the city.

Indeed, those human endeavours were used to decorate public spaces which are mostly situated in the historical centre of Brussels. From the 15th century some fountains did also play a role, a bit like sources, to provide water to its inhabitants.

The new typology of water mirrors creates new way of interacting of urban water play. Those novel elements need to inspire new projects especially those coping with summer heat waves.

Fig. 43 - St. Catherine Fountain (20)

Fig. 44 - De Meux Sq. F. (35)

Fig. 45 - Flagey Fountain (43)

Fig. 46 - Calder Fountain (28)

Fig. 47 - Park of Brussels F. (24)

Fig. 48 - Stephania Basin (55)

­| MAPPING THE EXISTING

Fountains

19. Botanic F. and B.

1 . Centenaire Basin

20. St Kathelijn F.

2. Osseghem Park Fountain

21. De Brouckère F.

3. J. Palfyn F.

22. St Kath. B.

4. Centenaire Boulevard F.

23. Pacheco F.

5. E. Bockstael F.

24. Park of Brussels F.

6. Laeken Park F.

25. Beurs Water Mirror

7. Sq. Prince Leopold F.

26. St Gery B.

8. King Boudewijn Park B.

27. Park of Brussels B.

9. E. Bockstael B.

28. Calder F.

10. Poelbos B.

29. ING B.

38. 2 Tomberg B.

47. Valduchesse F. (private)

11. Miroir Sq F.

30. Conservatory F.

39. Clos du Cinq B.

48. Pêcherie F.

12. Laerbeek Forest F.

31. Little Sablon Garden F.

40. Cinquentenaire Park F.

49. Héronnière Park F.

13. Elia B.

32. Merode St. F.

41. Montgomery F.

50. Tournay Solvay Park F. #1

14. M. Thiry F.

33. Ambiorix Sq. B.

42. Leopoldville Sq. F.

51. Tournay Solvay Park F. #2

15. Patria Sq. F.

34. ERM F.

43. Flagey F.

52. Van Der Elst Sq. B.

16. Dailly Sq. F.

35. J De Meux Sq. F.

44. Albert II Park F.

53. Forest Abbaye B.

17. A. Steurs Sq. F.

36. G. Henri Park F.

45. VUB F.

54. South Water treatment Facility

18. Botanical Garden F.

37. G. Henri Park B.

46. Valduchesse B. (private)

55. Stephania B.

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SWIMMING POOLS Focusing on swimming pools, this firstly educational and sportive tool, is maybe the most common weekend activity. Indeed the networks of pools is wide and pretty well distributed. If we take the regional borders of Brussels, 18 public indoor pools are present. As a reflexion, the maps also show the pools from surrounding communes. In red, the private owned pools compliment this networks of communal public pools. Those are sometime accessible to public even if not directly subsidized.

Some major problems arise from those water infrastructures. The maintaining costs and sometime old age of pools creates lots of financial problems for

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their owners. All of them are financed and managed by their communes and usually a huge burden for their expenses.

Communal pools appeared in the 60’s as a political argument. This is why the distribution is not well-thought as the only objective was to place it within the communal borders.

Tariffs are usually cheap but sometimes prohibiting access for poorer population. A variation in price is conducted privileging inhabitants of the commune.

Pool rules also prohibit to enjoy freely play and leisure as it is prohibits to play with a ball or eat or wear burkinis.

Fig. 49 - Bain de St-Josse (7)

Fig. 50 - Neptunium (5)

Fig. 51 - Stadium Kinetix (24)

Fig. 52 - Bains de Bruxelles (13)

Fig. 53 - Nereus (3)

Fig. 54 - Villa Empain (30)

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In Brussels

Out of Brussels

1.Neder-Over-Hembeek

19.Pierebad (Strombeek)

2.Omnisport La(e)ken

20.Dilkom (Dilbeek)

3.Nereus

21.Wauterbos (Rhode st Gen)

4.Louis Namèche 5.(Neptunium) - CLOSED 6.Tritton

Private Pools

7.Bain de St-Josse

22.Athénée Royal

8.ERM / KMS

23.Stadium

9.Poseidon

24. Stadium Kinetix

10.Espadon

25.Résidence Palace

11.VUB

26.Aspria La Rasante

12.(Ixelles) - CLOSED

27.Aspria Art-Loi

13.Bains de Bruxelles

28.Aspria Louisa

14.Victoir Boin

29.Castle Club

15.Ceria / Coovi

30.Villa Empain

16.Longchamp

31.Jam Hotel

17.Callipso 2000 18.Sportcity

Sphere of Influence

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PLAYGROUNDS / OUTDOOR SPORTS Known by most of the youngest inhabitants, playgrounds are essential transitional and leisure urban spaces.

Their size and formal conception features extremely wide variations.

The implementation of outdoor sport facilities is more recent and less recognised. Those slightly new infrastructures are still pretty much intensively used. The beauty canons and the well-being benefits sport induces do play a role in these behaviours.

The combination of those two recreative elements is also pretty new on the territory and allows a more diverse reach of public usages.

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All these recreative components are featured evenly in the region except for the more dense historical centre which doesn’t allow play as much.

The notion of play induced by those playgrounds and sport utensils, does not correspond generally to the definition of Van Eyck’s play spaces. Too much accent is given to the plastic representative shapes, not allowing children imaginative processes. The fact those utensils and play tools only allow one-only way of playing also reinforce this lack of transformative play influenced by the modern playground designs. Luckily not all playground and outdoor sport facility fall into this deviant contemporaneity.

Fig. 55 - Rouge-Cloître (Playground)

Fig. 56 - G. Henri (Playground)

Fig. 57 - Pirsoul Park (Playground)

Fig. 58 - Mudler Park (Play + Sport)

Fig. 59 - St. Pierre Street (Sport)

Fig. 60 - Maximiliaan Park (Sport)

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HEAT ISLANDS The last element to understand fully the territory of the metropolis is linked to climate. During summer days, some urban locations are experiencing vivid overheating. Those spaces can face a difference of around 3 to 4 degrees higher than the average temperature of the city. This phenomenon is caused by multiple factors such as the albedo effect or concretization of spaces. Human activity and material inertia creates even more heat and adds-on to those effects.

On the contrary parks and water infrastructures are enjoying a milder climate. Perspiration of vegetation and water evaporation help cooling.

The two present maps realised by

VITO and UrbClim help us comprehend the distribution of those heat islands.

In general, the inner dense city areas are conveying more heat (in red) while suburbs and parks (in blue ) are usually colder.

The potential and inertia of water elements used to cool is of real interest, this process is known since roman times.

On the figure below, a zoom of the heat map was overlayed with the other infrastructures previously studied. We can clearly see there is a potential to address in the pentagon (chosen site).

Fig. 61 - Heat Islands Map of the pentagon (From a base map of VITO & UrbClim)

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Fig. 62 - Heat Islands Map of the Region (Source: VITO & UrbClim)

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URBAN STRATEGY : WATERPLAY NETWORK As a conclusion, an overlay of all key infrastructures on the same maps helps create connections between them.

The absence of certain elements also questions potentialities of projects.

[Heat Response] The pentagon is also, as shown on the heat islands maps, the most concerning. For this reason also, the pentagon will be framing the potential sites.

[Pentagon]As first stand point, the resolution area, will be mainly focusing on the historical centre of Brussels, bordered by the pentagon. This area is of greater interest due it’s density and reduced amount of public and common spaces.

[A network of WaterPlay] It is envisioned that to solve the problems linked to lack of qualitative public spaces, lack of Playspaces and lack of Waterspaces in the pentagon, a network of new Play and Water spaces should be introduced.

This network could profit from some already existing infrastructures. It is a selection of prospective and existing WaterPlay elements. Some of those are illustrated on the next page.

[Lack of Playspace] The evident lack of Playspace within the hypercentre’s borders is arising a potential of projection. The only 4 playgrounds are definitely not enough for the density of population welcomed by the city centre.

[Lack of Waterspace] The only water presence in the centre is featured by fountain elements and the underground and hidden river Senne / Zenne.

[Site election]As a starting point of the network, and compared to the already existing infrastructure locations, the Administrative Centre was chosen as the elected site. Other factors such as dimension, complexity and monofunctionality influnced the choice.

Site

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Fig. 63 - Beco Park Fountain (Source: www.jacquesteller.files.wordpress.com)

Fig. 64 - St Katelijne / St. Catherine Basins (Source: www.bx1.be)

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Fig. 65 - Flagey Fountain (Source: www.photocory.files.wordpress.com)

Fig. 66 - Water Mirror Beurs/Bourse (Source: www.lalibre.be)

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5. SITE

HISTORY

PACHECO CENTRE

THE SITE Located on the edge of Brussels’ pentagon, the Cité Administrative D’Etat is an enviable and challenging site.

Bordered by the Rue Royale on the east, and by the Pacheco Boulevard on the west, it is a enclaved and lone-standing 400 meters object. Under, the North-Midi Junction railways tracks intersect and connect to the Congress railways stop.

This was imagined as a primary access to the site in the 60’s. The second ingress way which was thought in the same period was a car access made possible with a 1.418 spots of parking connected directly to the above towers with stairways and elevators. This explains the context in which the complex was thought and constructed. It arises the questions of the modernist ideals framing this utopian project.

[Centred Place] If we think of the location of the site in the Pentagon, the public transport and proximity to the city centrz makes it a really interesting site. The Rue Royale is indeed the most important thoroughfare of the Brussels: linking the parliament, the King’s palaces and Poelaert’s Court of justice.

The proximity of the Botanical Garden is also to be noted.

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[Immense scale] The size of the plot dedicated to this monstruous complex in a dense city centre is unbelievable.

The most horrifying is to know, is that those buildings are only half is occupied - which ultimately lead to the destruction of one of the existing towers. This makes us reconsider the derelict spaces which the site offers. The main opportunities examined are the office spaces, the parkings, some abandoned parts of the Pechère park, and to some extend the main Plaza.

[Problematic Urbanism] Modernist epitome and utopian ideals they reflect, are nowadays a huge concern. The blind wall of the parking, removing the human scale of the street, has already been the subject of several competitions to rethink them. The material, concrete, and the hardscape it fabricates, shapes the majority of the public clearance as circulation spaces.

All these reasons, - proximity with the city centre, the amount of derelict spaces and the challenge of this heritage of modernist urbanism - constitute key opportunities to transform and humanize what is known as one of the biggest Brusselization project failure.

Fig. 67 - Location of the Administrative Centre (Source: Google Earth 3D)

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HISTORICAL CONTEXT Born in April 1958, during the opulent era of the 58th Universal Exhibition and car dominated city era, the project already arose debates. ARAU will even describe it as ‘the most absurd project of North-Midi Junctions masterplan’ (Y. Cantraine, 2011) [Situation] The site is situated at the edge of the second city wall of Brussels.

Back in XVII century, it was an ancient convent with multiple orchards. In 1821, it was landfilled during the demolition of the old fortification and creation of Rue Royale. At that time, the site already attracted the interest of the city. The aim to modernised ‘this poor unclean city block’ by creating some new city equipment was pursued.

Few years later, in 1847, the city retained the project of J. P. Cluysenaar.

His vision imagined to link the two sides which had a difference of height of 17meters. The Neo-Romanesque design featured a covered market with a monumental staircase and a sloped street.

[Congress Column] In continuation, in 1850, J. Poelaert was commissioned to rethinking the square over the market, also known as Panorama square.

He proposed the erection of a new monument, the Congress Column, and 2 private mansions to better frame the edges of the square.

With a height of 47 meters and an interior a 153 steps staircase, the Congress Column was build was finalised in 1859.

The most remarkable characteristic is the overhanging statue of King Leopold-I. It also figures the 9 provinces, the name of the 237 members of the National Congress and the foundational articles of the Belgian Constitution.

After the first world war, the Unknown Soldier was buried under the column.

Since then, the nearby Eternal Flame reminds us of this historical event.

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[Hegemonic city tool] In 1937, the idea of regrouping on the same plot all the administrative organisation of the country arose. At that time, the government administrative centre was divided in 57 buildings which had to be maintained. The proposal to gather them on the same place would also reinforce the connections between the multiple administrations. The Pacheco Site was nearly directly chosen because it was situated in the Pentagon – defined as the location of the capital city- but also because it was easily accessible by car.

The positioning of the project would also allow the area to be regenerate in a ‘sanest district’.

The aim was to solve ‘the problem of insalubrity, to clean up the area of shabby constructions deprived of architectural values’.(Y. Cantraine, 2011) At that time 690 households lived there still. The full plot was demolished, leaving a blank page ready for an new chapter of history.

[Proposal] On July 8th 1955, the decision was endorsed by the Ministerial Council. Soon after, a college of architects was selected by the government, it was composed of L. Stynen, M. Lambricht, G. Ricquier, H. Van Kuyck, J. Gilson, T. Daens, R. Piron and A. Vanderauwera. Several phases of thoughts and sketches were presented and discussed. The main idea was to propose a handful of modernist buildings surrounded by suspended gardens and terraces. The vast group will face some tensions and Leon Stynen will decide to leave the college. For him, it was ‘difficult to accept a program which was monofunctional, only thinking about building state offices, without involving a broader conception of social, cultural and leisure-based elements’.(Y. Cantraine, 2011) The project moreover envisioned a huge parking complex of more than 1.418 vehicles which was finally build.

Fig. 68 - Global View (Source: Y. Cantraine - La Cité Administrative D’Etat, p.3)

Fig. 69 - Location in 1850 (Source: Y. Cantraine - La Cité Administrative D’Etat, p.4)

Fig. 70 - Demolition works (Source: Y. Cantraine - La Cité Administrative D’Etat, p.9)

Fig. 71 - Cluysenaar project (Source: Y. Cantraine - La Cité Administrative D’Etat, p.7)

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D E

F H

A

C

I

B

G

Fig. 72 - Situation Plan (Source: Y. Cantraine - La Cité Administrative D’Etat, p.26)

Fig. 73 - Projected Plans of the Finance Tower (Source: Y. Cantraine - La Cité Administrative D’Etat, p.31)

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ADMINISTRATIVE CENTRE In 1984, after 25 years of construction, 10.320 civil servants were finally installed inside the new complex. The modernist complex composed of multiple building on a plinth of parking spaces has a huge footprint on the area.

[A,B - Parking] Situated in a Belgian blue stone plinth of the Administrative Centre, the parking is divided into several building with a 4 and a 5 floors parking. Some public equipments are also featured in the building. Over the parking the idea of a garden and a square was implemented.

[C - Vésale Quarter] Articulating the Administrative Centre with the residential neighbourhood, it was first thought to gather the civil servants of the Colonies Ministry. After few year of abandonment, it was reconditioned for 1.170 employees of the Health Ministry.

The underground part also was thought as an archive adjoined to a library.

[D,E - Arcades Quarter] L shaped building, with direct access to the garden hosted the Education Ministry and National Education grievor ( 1.650 employees).

Its program was arranges with offices, meeting rooms, restaurants, and an immense cafeteria.

[G - Esplanade Quarter] (demolished) The Ministry of Civil Services with a capacity of 1090 employees was destroyed in 2019. Originally supposed to close the square with an angle to orient towards the view the unused building was demolished after only 30 years of existence.

[H - Decroly Conference Centre] Decided in 1963, at the foot of the Finance tower by Leon Stynen, it intend to reorient a more public oriented program with a multi-use pavilion.The architectonic and lone-standing properties of the building aspired to break the monotony of the office aesthetic.

[I- Pechère Garden] Inspired by the ancient XVII century gardens, with rhythm and the constraints of the shallow depth of the slab, it was actually a more technical than artistic project.

It features a playground with sandpits and benches. On the other side, a more cartesian design of small hedges boxes around water elements punctuating the parking slab while interacting with the monotonous glass facades.

[F - Finance Tower] Known as the most prominent building of the country and being twice as spacious as the Midi Tower. First thought with 50 floors only 29 were finally build. An helicopter landing pad was even built on the roof.

It was never used and is now employed as the antenna base used to broadcast a variety of national tv channels.

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PECHERE GARDEN After 25 years of construction, office space were reaching completion. It is at that moment that some beautification project were launched. The creation of a park on top of those parking was then envisioned.

[Designated designer] It is with moderate surprise that R. Pechère was chosen to commission this newly imagined park. Reknown designer of the Universal Exhibition gardens but also Mont des Arts or Van Buuren museum garden, Pechère was an obvious choice.

This didn’t signify that it was going to be an easy task.

[Idealistic Concept] Inspired by the pre-existing monastic gardens, Pechère’s first sketches had romanticised intentions (see figures). He describes his intent to ‘flood those modernist buildings into an immense carpet of flowers disseminated in between square basin asymmetrically stowed like a painting of Paul Klee’ (Cantraine, 2007) His suspended gardens, as he used to call them finally end up being an ordinary and rhythmic design.

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[Troublesome Structure]Because the project was thought after the parking, Pechère had limited design possibilities. The romantic XIII century garden ended into a technical solving project. The complex structure system and the small amount of loads it could carry prohibit most of his actions. To create those basins and flower carpets, he has to elevate the ground. This lead to a segmented and rhythmic proposal imposed by the structure. Small modules composed of hedge surrounding 2 benches and a water fountain were disseminated around the plot. A more organic part of the design was the establishment of a playground shaped of several sandpits.

[Derelict Space ] Both of those elements, the fountain rooms and the playground sandpits are nowadays totally neglected. The lack of management of the park and its green spaces is a real pity. As shown in following site pictures, a vibe of Chernobyl is floating around. Also, like other parks of the city, transmigrants occupy few hidden places.

Fig. 74 - View of the Pechère Park (Source: Y. Cantraine - La Cité Administrative D’Etat, p.46)

Fig. 75 - Concept Drawings (Source: Y. Cantraine La Cité Administrative D’Etat)

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THE FUTURE OF THE SITE The historical understanding of the site, leads us to evaluate the preeminent importance of its location. Today, its great interest didn’t vanished. Housing crisis and the lack of building plot in the region led the city to rethink the area. The triangular plot which was abandoned for years was demolished in 2019 and a some architects were commissioned: Jaspers-Eyers & Partners and Archi 2000 were selected, and a draft project was suggested.

[Program] The proposal is a mixeduse program which is indeed needed in this really monofunctional office area. A new police station is intended as a first function. Housing towers are supposed to come over the parking areas and thus enjoy the unused public parking for a more private use. The towers would host commercial activities such as proximity shops and restaurants but also posits to develop new office areas. Those new office spaces are to be questioned, I believe. The way the parking is tackled in the design remains also, a huge lack of rethinking those spaces.

More public functions such as a school and a kindergarten are to be added. This might attract families back into the city centre which is currently more based on smaller family units. I do believe that reimplanting kids and families could be a positive aspect of the proposal, to give a neighbourhood feeling back to the site.

[Square] A new design was also envisioned for the Plaza, but on the available visuals, the only transformation is the addition of a new stair connecting the upper Rue Royale to the Pacheco boulevard. I do think an activating element is still missing to create a coherent and socially attractive square.

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[View] Some of the aspects of the rethinking of the square, such as the volumes and positions of the future towers, are of huge concerns. The proximity of the Finance Tower, one of the biggest tower of the region, allows the design of dense towers on the site, but a major impact of those towers was neglected. The view, one of the nicest perspective of the city, will be blocked from the Plaza. This means the new apartments will benefit from the view instead, which is a real commercial benefit for the private developers. The idea of privatisation of the view, is to me, totally outrageous.

[Shade and Wind] Another concern, created by towers will be the appearance of shades and winds on the same plaza.

This means the typology of dense towers will not only eliminate the view but also evict the all day long sun while creating new winds streams. The winds are already pretty strong in the area due to the Finance Tower, to an extent that during strong storms some parts of the park access need to be closed. These 3 factors would completely chase people from the Plaza level making it an other unused circulation space in the city.

[Parking] New ramps around the parking don’t tackle the problem of accessibility. They extend the 380m of blind wall while not trying to reduce its influence. The immense parking is used as an excuse to build the fitting number of apartments, as asked in regulations and increase private profits.

[Rejection] All these factors leads us to understand why the inhabitants rejected this project and made the architect rethink several other design proposal which were also by far, rejected.

Fig. 76 - New Project (Source: Jaspers-Eyers)

Fig. 77 - Visualisation of the Project (Source: Comité de quartier Notre-Dame-aux-Neiges)

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Parking Building

Congress Station

Conference Center

Tunnel

Pechère Garden

Administrative Center

Finance Tower

National Bank

Future Project

Ancient Fondation

SITE

Housing Block

Congress Column

GENIUS LOCI (SHORT MOVIE) To better understand the qualities of the site, a short movie was realised. It tends to grasp, as objectively as possible, vibes, views, sonic environments, solar orientations and many other qualities which could be conveyed by a moving image and a corresponding sound.

It is, to a certain extent, a Lefebvrian Rhythmanalysis of the space. An analysis of rhythm of people and groups of people, tending to understand social and psychological behaviours influenced by built and material aspects of the site.

[Process] The process of filming was realised trying not to interfere with passer-by to not influence the real spirit of the place. This is why, each video fragment is 12 seconds of stand still filming, to get a wide time frame and be able to understand existing vibes while make it the shortest total visioning time possible.

This process was introduced and used by William H. Whyte, sociologist and urbanist which analysed social behaviours in urban spaces of New York.

He is a renowned researcher and one of the founders of what we call nowadays Urban Sociology.

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[Context] This short video was realised end of November (28) during covid-19 pandemics with its related regulations.

It was captured during a weekday, from 1 pm to 4 pm. The weather was pretty usual to good for the season. All these precisions to explain that the period of the capture did influence the end result but still being accurate to the general vibe of the site on other periods of time or seasons.

[Analysis] Only few differences are to be noticed to other times periods. In usual non-covid summer, more people stroll in the area while still leaving the immense plaza pretty empty. Greener spaces are sometime used for sitting or enjoying the view. Few skateboarders also usually make use of the hardscape of the Plaza.

The Playground and back of Pechère park are usually empty. They are abandoned spaces.

Please check the following weblink to watch the short movie.

Please scan the QR code below to access the video:

Movie : Site Overview - 06:36

Also available safely on : https://youtu.be/oKRO_EZgMyw

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Movie Site Overview - F ­ rame 01:45

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Movie Site Overview -­Frame 02:30

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Movie Site Overview -­Frame 03:19

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Movie Site Overview -­Frame 02:34

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Movie Site Overview -­Frame 05:35

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Movie Site Overview -­Frame 06:31

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Movie Site Overview -­Frame 07:33

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Movie Site Overview -­Frame 07:44

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Movie Site Overview -­Frame 07:56

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6. PROJECT

ARCHITECTURAL PROPOSAL

PROJECT INTENTIONS The project addresses several key intentions oriented around the concepts of Leisure, Play, Water and Commons.

[Local] The genius loci of the space but also the Lefebvrian notion of Right to the City asks us to direct a proposal which solve local issues before wider scales. The creation of a network of people which inhabits or uses the spaces nearby and involve them in the creation and appropriation of this nearby space is one of the intentions of the proposal.

[Commons] In this intent, the creation of a community, does imply creating a space of expression for this same community. This space is not only material, but material architecture does make room for a immaterial production of protocols and interactions. The spatial presence of a community on the Plaza does allow a permeability between the commoners and the Notyet commoners.

[Play] As explained in the theoretical framework, the role of Play, as a transformative and crucial role in the development of children, should be architectured and thought about in contemporary cities. The proposal will inscribe and architecture transitional spaces which allow (free) Play as Van Eyck intended to do in the 50’s.

[Water - Play] Water, as a play element will be used to create this material interaction necessary to Play.The abstract and fluid characteristics of water makes it an ideal medium to conceptualise and allow imaginative interactions invoking Play behaviours. This will be represented

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on the architectural scale of the project by fountains and it’s derived water mirror but also with smaller elements such as showers and waterfall architectonic details.

[Water - Refreshment] Water does not only implies Play behaviours but also refreshment characteristics. Its physical properties, involve with its evaporation, the refreshment of the nearby environment. For this reason, the fountain will cool the surrounding environs creating a micro-climate of around 4°C lower. A surrounding space, named Urban beach - as used by G. Brunfaut in his 1934 Pool Masterplan will create a leisure, beach vibe allowing people to tan and enjoy this cooling effect. The cooling effect could be enhanced if the person gets wet. The proximity of a reasonable size water component does have several gradients of cooling processes allowing multiple usages.

[Water - Circularity] The way water is used nowadays, and most of the time in excess - due to its low price - should be reconsidered. The fact that rainwater is dumped directly in the sewage system - as a waste - should also be changed.

This is why, one of the element of the project imagines a rainwater collection system which makes water available to further uses. This infrastructure is made visible - in connection with Berlin water system - to raise awareness and visibility of water consumption in urban settings.

It’s main objective is to educate people for a better more responsible use of this precious resource.

SITE

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Axonometric of the site (From a base drawing of M.Levy & A. Siraut)

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CONNECTING [Local Commons]Creating networks of people from the neighbourhood on the site and let them appropriate their nearby space is essential. The Plaza does belong to the workers of the Administrative centre but it also belong to the people living in the area even more. The project intends to spatialise a space for the meetings and networking - therefore creating a space for commoning.

[Royale to Pacheco] Connecting spatially 17 meters of height difference between Rue Royale and Pacheco Boulevard on the East-West axis is primordial.

Nowadays the connection is not the most practical nor direct. This will allow the square to become more densely visited, becoming a focus point of the area. The connection of those two main thoroughfares will enjoy the opportunity to transform the underground spaces of parking into a new type of dedicated to Play.

[Around water (Play)] The social potential of water was well proven in the theoretical framework and case studies.

This is why the urban beach, the fountain should attract and activate the space during a major part of the year. Others activities will bloom around it.

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[Around water (Refresh)] Heat waves are huge concerns in summer, the new water spaces will allow to create a fresh space by allowing users to bathe, shower, but also enjoy the water refreshing effect due to evaporation. This should cool the space for around 4 degrees lowers than elsewhere in the pentagon.

[Around Water (Awareness)] Water as a resource to be used and thought about should be implemented even more. The creation of a water treatment facility should allow public to see and understand it. This educational objective could be carried by nearby schools and neighbourhood committees raising awareness on responsible usage and collection of (rain)water.

[Free Space] The hegemonic and privatisation effects are more than visible in the area. This is why, more public and common spaces should be introduced back in the district. The concept of Free Space - developed by Y. Farrell and S. McNamara - is addressing this element of generosity inherent in space toward the real owners or users.

Plaster model showing the intention of creating a fountain and connection staircase

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COMMONS AS A LOCAL STRATEGY The introduction of a community of commoners in this derelict Plaza will be a major event to activate and bring back to life this monofunctional district.

[Brusselization] It should not be forgotten that this district was built after the demolishing it’s preexisting neighbourhood. This regretful Brusselization process chased the area of 690 households. Since the construction of the Cité Administrative D’Etat, the monofunctionality and hegemonic modernist urbanism is the only present character.

[A social empowerment] Since the 60’s and the idea of clearing the site for governmental institutions, this area of the city, didn’t changed much. As a part of the North-Midi Junction project, the urbanism was left pretty much untouched. The idea of reintroducing new constructions in the area has thus a political status and an antihegemonic more participative reflexion besides it. By placing a building for the people of the neighbourhood on this monumental square, it reinforces even more this participative intention. This act creates not only visibility of this political statement but also a room for a new vibrant network of neighbours which could act as a neighbourhood committee and defend even more the local preoccupations.

[Space for Commoners] Imagining a space for Urban Commons is a resistant exercise. It is always difficult for an architect to imagine how a space will be used by users, while knowing them, imagine how hard it could be to imagine a space for a constantly redefining

group of people. The size of the group and the socio-cultural differences could vary rapidly. For this reason, the design of a common space should anticipate a generic form which could be appropriate. One big enclosed space could then be designed with few utility rooms such as kitchen and toilets.

[Establishing a Common] This space will have an dull identity from its colours and materials and this will allow the group of commoners to create their own identity through decoration and appropriation. The process of appropriation is essential in the formation of the community and will be the founding act of the creation of the common. The second act will be to discuss collectively, through participative processes the resources which will be set in common. The notions of management of Play , Water, Leisure and sharing a space could be chosen as resource. But this decision can only be taken by the commoners themselves.

[An Urban Beach to socialise] As a contribution to the creation of the common, the role of the architect, will be to imagine a modest space which will act as a social gathering space to provoke the meeting and connections of the first members of this community.

This is one reason why a water component, a fountain, accompanied by its surrounding ‘beach’ is imagined. The exact behaviours which will happen are impossible to predict but will definitely create a social interaction around this water element.

An intentional collage of this water gathering element is proposed on the following page.

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PROGRAM The project addresses several key intentions oriented around the concepts of Leisure, Commons, Play and Water.

Those concepts are converted into an interconnected mixed-use program.

The area of projection in which this program is applied focuses mainly in the southwest corner of the plaza flowing towards the Pechère park through the preexisting parking.

Some features of the program are directly inspired by the Spoor Noord fountain in Antwerp or the Southbank Parklands in Brisbane .

[Leisure] The main intention is to set non-work activities in this only dedicated to hegemonic power of office spaces, trying to mix uses. The fountain element creating an urban beach, is the main element conveying this leisure activity.

[Commons] To accompany the fountain, a small-scale pavilion helps service and activate the square. It hosts a community of commoners managing the material and immaterial resources of the site. Servicing spaces such as toilets, showers and lockers have the intended functions of servicing both those outdoor and indoor spaces.

Another exterior function, connecting the fountain to the pavilion is featured by a terrace which acts as a threshold mixing the common and public space and therefore creating the permeability required by common spaces.

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[Play] The fountain is not a decorative element but an interactive component.

It allows, as the theory of Play posits, a transformative and transitional interaction with abstract objects, in this case water, in concordance with the user imagination, and allow developmental behaviours linked to concept of growing. Another space is dedicated to play. The underground and dark parking, once transformed, allow a free space, a place where every activity is allowed.

The design will shape the context to be as abstract and playfull as possible to allow educational aspect of Play.

[Water] The play characteristic is not the only elements featured by water.

In the project, the cooling features are also intentionally utilised. In fact, the water evaporation cools the surrounding system and creates a local micro climate around the fountain, cooling it to until 4°C in summer.

Another characteristic retained from water interaction is the resilient and circular management of the resource itself. For this reason a water collection and treatment facility is provided on the site. Not only it exploits a free resource which is nowadays a waste but also relieve the stress on the sewage system.

[Inclusive]The global intention of the project is inscribed into creating a free and inclusive space. Allowing socioeconomic, religious and gender groups to reunite and shape mixity on the site.

LEISURE WATER Fountain with Urban Beach Rain water collection system PLAY Underground Playground Hardscape for Play + Fountain

COMMONS Activating Pavilion -Toilets -Showers

-Common Space -Kitchen

-Back Kitchen -Storage Connecting Stair

1.

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2.

5.

4.

3.

1. Pavilion Of Commons 2. Fountain / Urban Beach 3. Connecting Staircase 4. Underground Play Space 5. Rainwater Facility

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Implantation Section A ( From a base drawing of A. Siraut & M. Levy)

B

A

Implantation Plan (From a base drawing of A. Siraut & M. Levy)

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Structural Complexity - Column Plan

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Structural Complexity - Axonometric Representation

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Plan: Existing square with materiality

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Fig. 78 - Existing state of the square (Source: Google Earth)

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REDEFINING A COMMON SQUARE About the architectural intervention on the square, the intention is to not touch most of its existing qualities.

[Hardscape] The mineral hardscape - mainly due to its structural design - is of real interest. Indeed, the materiality, the flatness and proportions of the existing Plaza allows skateboarding and other similar activities. Those activities shouldn’t be chased with the new project but other new activities could be induced by the new elements. Adding trees or vegetation could have been a brilliant idea but is also inconsistent on such a thin slabs without major structural transformations. This is - why because of feasibility problems- the introduction of percolating vegetation will not be envisioned.

[Commoning Space] A new building will be implemented creating an activating and servicing element on the square. A social and commonly managed public space will be accessible to the Plaza’s visitors. Public toilets, showers and lockers will also be reachable for who would like to use them. [ Fountain ] A water element is added on the square which will address the Play, Leisure and Refreshment concerns of the design. This fountain is not intended as a decorative component

but an interactive element. It’s abstract qualities defined by water will allow transformative protocols of Play while refreshing the square. It will be fed by the new water circular facility proposed in the project. The shape of the fountains tend to impact the underneath structure the least as possible. A slight bend in the slab will be executed. This will allow water to stay in the fountains but also still allow pre-existent functions if the fountain should be stopped. This is also made possible through fountain elements providing water and collecting it being as minimal as possible (see figures below).

[Access to Pacheco Boulevard] An access stairwell is placed in the middle of the square, creating an new East-West connecting axis. The minimal design was intended to least perturbated the underneath structure. The materiality (coloured brutalistic concrete elements) stages and positions the new access while preserving - almost like an heritage intervention - the existing.

[Temporality] The uses of the square will evolve with time and seasons.

The project while trying to leave as much adaptation possibilities, tries to limits it’s impact on the existent and already functioning Plaza while keeping it’s character and connection to the view.

Fig. 79 & 80 - Fountain elements - (Source: Multiple captured by M. Lunetta)

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Fountain

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Gender neutral Toilets Changing-Shower cabin

Outdoor Showers

Storage / Utility

Back kitchen/Office

Kitchen

Lockers

Common Space

Terrace

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Quick sketch : Commoning Room

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A SPACE FOR COMMONING Imagining a space for commoning or a group of people, in general, is not an easy task. The idea of a common pavilion proposed in this project intends to create the most flexible and appropriable architecture.

[Space] The scale of the building tries to keep human scale with a typology of only one level. The proportions also attempt to keep it to a size of a community, a numerous amount of people but not exaggerating the numbers.

[Generic] To please most commoners the spaces need to be generic to allow projection and appropriation. Bare materials are used for economic and generic qualities of colours. This also provide easier recycling cycle afterwards.

[Urban living room] Even if the space need to be generic enough to please all its users, it also needs to be as cosy and create an positive identity linked to social warmth. The wooden material of the ceiling and the walls creates this warm atmosphere while keeping it to its natural pretty generic material colour.

[Services] A space as beautifully design as it could be, would never work without its servicing functions. A decent amount of toilets are provided. Those don’t distinguish genders as a way to be as gender fluid and inclusive as possible.

Few showers connected to changing areas are provided to allow cycling commoners and future bathing visitors to change and clean themselves. Locker boxes are present in the main corridor of the building allowing commoners and visitors to leave personal belonging.

A storage space is envisaged to put away children play tools, towels and even longchairs. A terrace is extending the common room to the outdoor.

It establishes the threshold between public and common, allowing to welcome parties and events creating this permeable interaction.

[Common Management]The small size of the building allows enough space while creating low maintenance levels.

Management wise, this building could be shared between different communities and associations, this will permit building bridges while sharing a space.

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CONNECTING STAIRCASE The creation of a new east-west connection is more than needed.

Nowadays, due to accessibility problems, some spaces are left unvisited. Even if this connection does exist, the deviation it supposes left it unpractical to most users and therefore create avoidance of certain areas.

[Visibility] To imagine such a connection, it is important to design it in a way which make the new passage obvious to users. For this reason the entrance from the upper level is placed in the middle of the Plaza. The formal expression is also a key factor in the design. It creates a back bone linking the levels of the project site.

[Materiality] Accordingly, the elected materiality imagined needs to stand out while not conflicting with the genius loci of the space. This is why coloured concrete was chosen. It creates a sculptural shape in the middle of the square while keeping it’s mineral character. Concrete was also chosen for its structural qualities. The fact that precast elements could carry its how weight from one beam to another, help creating a shapes at the same time as resolving the structural and more technical parts of the design.

[Potentialities] Inserting this new object into the parking and linking it, 2 level below, to the park, creates a tension in the pre-existing parking. This opportunity is then taken to modify an substantial part of the parking into a new covered space. The function of this space could vary, but the parking function, unused nowadays should go. As a matter to resolve the Play and Leisure but also the Water concepts inherent to the project intentions, an covered Playspace is imagined. On the edges of this space, a water collection and treatment facility is introduced and made visible.

[Connect to the existent]The lower part of this backbone is realised with an overpass connecting the previous parking to the exterior space. The slight height difference in between those 2 levels influenced a plinth structure emphasizing the exiting process. The plinth proportions also allow resting activities as it is the correct height to allow seating. Once the few steps are traversed, a stroll in the calmer side of the Pechère park leads you to the existing metal staircase accompanying finally to the Pacheco Boulevard level .

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Connecting Staircase (Over Ramp Passage)

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Connecting Staircase (Exterior View)

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CIRCULAR & BIO-CLIMATIC ANSWER [Water as a resource] A key element of the project is the collection and usage of local rainwaters.

[Collecting rainwater] The rainwater sliding down the roofs and pavements of the surroundings are collected through a new piping system and stored into huge water tanks in the actual parking. The solid structure, calculated to host 1418 vehicles, is allowed to carry moderately big water tanks. A quick calculation of the rainwater quantity evaluated per year for the Administrative Centre site only could be approximated to: 47.824,34 m² x 785 L/ m² = 37.542.107 L per year (Average olympic pool: 5.200.000 L)

It is a huge amount of water which is nowadays dumped in the sewage system!

If we look closely, the rainwater quantity vary moderately over the seasons. This means, that during summer a big quantity of water could be available. During winter, the storage system could act as a moderate version of a storm basin.

This will be contributing to balancing the amount of rainwater thrown in the

water sewage system on the lower part of the city, therefore creating less floods.

[Sanitizing rainwater] Multiples ways of treating water exists. They are really complex processes. Domestic and small industrial companies do install such systems. They mostly involve filtering the muds and dusts and using reverse osmosis and/or uv treatment to make it safe for drinking. Even though this water could be drinkable, it is not recommended, it is still safe to accidentally ingest it.

[Climatic Response] The water collected, becoming a free resource, it can serve in multiples usages. Domestic uses such as toilet flushes, showers, washing machine, plant watering are totally recommend. Another usage could be to fill a pool or a in our case a fountain.

The water cooling characteristics due to direct or indirect refreshment capabilites could then be appreciated with this free water source also. Those resilient water cooling systems could help to better cope with urban summer heatwaves.

Fig. 81 - Water storage tank (Source: www.exportersindia.com.)

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[Rainwater bank] Awareness about water presence in the city but also the way water is used or spilled is one of the key element of the project. This example, located in Brisbane, called Rain Bank is a wonderful inspiration.

Fig. 82 - Water Bank from oustide (Source: Southbank Corp.)

Built in 2012, it was inaugurated by the Queen herself. It features a totally new landscaping project which collects rainwater after percolation into several water tanks. This water is then treated to make it clean for different uses. Shower, pools and gardens are irrigated by this free and local resource.

The location of this small scale water treatment facility makes it ideal for educational purposes. A big window was installed and explaning panels give passer-by the intellectual material to understand the essential role of this water treatment facility. School are also invited to visit the place.

Fig. 83 - Water Bank from oustide (Source: Southbank Corp.)

Fig. 84 - Water Bank from inside (Source: Southbank Corp.)

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Similar infrastructures on the Pacheco site, could help the city to become more resilient. On next page, a schematic understanding of how the water cycle could be changed is presented.

CIRCULAR WATER USE Rainwater

City Tap Water

0,0033 €/ L FILTRATION

Ground Percolation

Toilet

Washing Machine

Kitchen Sink

Grey Water

Sewage Collector

Water Distribution

Water Evaporation

Black Water

Shower

Sewage Water

Water Treatment Facility Drinkable Water

Zenne Senne

Canal

URBAN WATER CYCLE

DRINKING WATER CYCLE

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Conceptual collage - Free Play space

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FREE PLAY SPACE [Covered Space] The underground shelter of the parking is perfect to host public or common activities.

Those unused parkings spaces have the potential to create a new dark but wide Play spaces. The dark vibe which could be lit with colored lights is perfect to blur the materiality and allow imagination, creating a cave where Play is glorified.

McNamara, it conveys a generous gift of space extending Lefebvre ideal of Right to the City. This is why this space is design as a Free Space as much as a Play space (see below for a part of the free space manifesto) [Educational Space] The new underground space will also be dedicated to other educational activities (such as Montessori learning). Schools are always welcomed to use the space too.

An educational awareness program will be put in place to sensitize children to water issues.

A free box library will also be placed for people to leave, read or collect books. The space filled with pillow could convert itself into a reading room.

[Free Play Space]Van Eyck describes, fenced 50’s playgrounds as ‘private and expensive’ Those leisure spaces called amusement parks nowadays are nothing compared to the abstract and imaginative places Van Eyck asks for.

New leisure spaces should always be transformative and thought as free place. This concept of Free Space was developed during the 16th Biennale of Architecture of Venice by Y. Farrell and S.

FREE SPACE MANIFESTO ‘‘FREESPACE describes a generosity of spirit and a sense of humanity at the core of architecture’s agenda, focusing on the quality of space itself.

FREESPACE focuses on architecture’s ability to provide free and additional spatial gifts to those who use it and on its ability to address the unspoken wishes of strangers. [...]

FREESPACE celebrates architecture’s capacity to find additional and unexpected generosity in each project - even within the most private, defensive, exclusive or commercially restricted conditions. [...]

FREESPACE can be a space for opportunity, a democratic space, un-programmed and free for uses not yet conceived.

There is an exchange between people and buildings that happens, even if not intended or designed, so buildings themselves find ways of sharing and engaging with people over time, long after the architect has left the scene. Architecture has an active as well as a passive life.’’

Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara Curators of the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia (May 26th to November 25th 2018). Originally issued in June 2017.

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Construction Site

Ancient Tower Structure

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Storage

Service Access

Control Room

Water treatment

Reading Spac Cave Storage Lockers

Emergency EXIT

Library

Theatre

Technical Room

Reading Space

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Void

ce

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Storage

Service Access

Control Room

Water treatment

Abstract modules Cave Storage Lockers

Emergency EXIT

Mirror / Dance room

Technical Room

Abstract modules

Table tennis

Double Height

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CONCLUSION To conclude, the peregrination leading to the present reflexion. The intention was to try to tackle the notions of Leisure , Play, Water interaction and Urban Commons. Some additional concepts such as Free Space, Inclusivity and responsible use of resource complimented and allowed to create, from my perspective, an interesting and transgressive proposal.

The theoretical background mainly issued from social and human sciences allowed to understand which important characteristics of Play and Water interactions authorized a consistent proposal. The Right to the City and Urban Commons notions fed the proposal on a more global anti-hegemonic and inclusive intentions.

The case study of Van Eyck’s insight introduced and resumed the theory of Urban Play. The fact he brought back Leisure in neighbourhoods in the 50’s is a key element. The consistent use of materials and utilization of water elements helped to shape the Urban Beach proposal of this project.

Water interaction references also helped to produce more grounded intentions around the concept of Water and Play. Several other notions surrounding water uses, were also inspiring. This led to a particular attention to water, and resource management as key elements of this project.

The site election, which was changed several time during the writing of this reflexion was not the most easy to address. The help of mapping existing infrastructures and the potentialities allowed to fix the scope to the Pacheco Administrative Centre. The urban strategy oriented toward process of reusing and adapting the current network of Water and Play infrastructures will impulse a better distribution on the regional territory. It responds to a lack of Leisure, Play and Water spaces in the pentagon.

The proposal also try to found with

water elements a local climatic answer to overheating concretized urban spaces.

The complex history linked to monofunctional offices and hegemonic control of space in the State Administrative Centre led to question about common procedures to solve the demand for a more participative and horizontal way of managing the space.

On the base of the architectural proposal, the mix-use program activate the square and reintroduce life in the neighbourhood. The act of appropriation linked to the creation of the Common Pavilion, tends to question the power relations. Fountains are used as play and refreshing tools, on the square.

The second element of the project, a local resolution of a connection to the lower part of the site is made possible via the introduction of a staircase into the pre-existing parking. This gave the potentiality to question its current use and permit to propose a new function for this heavy structure.

The notion of Urban Commons which is difficult to put in place without concrete on-site bottom-up action tend to reshape the area around commoning process of identification.

The urban strategy, election of the site and architectural proposal perturbate commonly accepted practices and propose a novel insights on the notion of communal disposability of space with a generous intention to provoke more Leisure orientated spaces in the city.

Those leisure activities involving play and water tend to allow an inclusive intention with a questioning of S. McNamara and Y. Farell concept of Freespace.

The current proposal might not the most perfect but try to address most of the complex topics in a limited amount of time.

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FIGURES Fig. 1 - https://delcampe-static.net/img_large/auction/000/413/860/471_002.jpg?v=4 Fig. 2 - https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/gesellschaft/zweiter-weltkrieg-die-folgen-fuer.html Fig. 3 - De Roose, F. 2000. De Fonteinen van Brussel, Brussels: Lannoo, p.45 Fig. 4 - https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/AvMhK8s-D Fig. 5 - http://www.reflexcity.net/bruxelles/photo/b2145e049 Fig. 6 - https://www.arcam.nl/en/burgerweeshuis/ Fig. 7 - https://tallerdeformacion2.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/1-zaanhof.jpg Fig. 8 - https://modernistplay.tumblr.com/ Fig. 9 - https://i.pinimg.com/564x/f6/18/ae/f618ae475db2ecd8286ac089c6760ee1.jpg Fig. 10 - https://colectivociudadz.wordpress.com/2017/01/11/playgrounds/das-kind_aldo-van-eyck Fig. 11 - https://www.kunstambassadeurs.nl/post/hergebruik-speelobjecten-aldo-van-eyck Fig. 12 - https://www.mistermotley.nl/sites/default/files/fpsyg-08-01130-g002.jpg Fig. 13 - http://www.rocagallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/1.jpg Fig. 14 - https://vaneesterenmuseum.nl/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Speelse-Stad-Van-Eyck-6.jpg Fig. 15 to 20 - https://merijnoudenampsen.org/2013/03/27/aldo-van-eyck-and-the-city/ Fig. 21 - https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/336292297151972201/ Fig. 22 - https://undiaunaarquitecta.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/mulder11.jpg?w=306&h=&zoom=2 Fig. 23 - https://undiaunaarquitecta.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/mulder10.jpg?w=427&h=&zoom=2 Fig. 24 - https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lia_Karsten/publication/232928240/figure/fig5/ Fig. 25 - https://www.mvrdv.nl/projects/272/tainan-spring?photo=18738 Fig. 26 - https://www.mvrdv.nl/projects/272/tainan-spring?photo=18742 Fig. 27 - https://mvrdv.com/media/uploads/Daria%20Scagliola-3538.jpg?width=1920 Fig. 28 - https://www.mvrdv.nl/projects/272/tainan-spring?photo=18744 Fig. 29 - http://www.pooliscool.org/news/2016/9/22/badeau-the-first-public-open-air-swimming-pool Fig. 30 - https://bx1.be/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/PIC_ACTION_20180601_NORTH-BEACH_jpg Fig. 31 - https://www.rtbf.be/info/regions/detail_et-si-on-pouvait-nager-dans-l-etang-du-bois-de-la-cambre Fig. 32 - http://www.pooliscool.org/news/2017/6/26/the-biggest-public-outdoor-pool-in-brussels Fig. 33 to 36 - Diedrich, L. 2006. Landscape Architecture Europe Foundation, Basel: Birkhäuser p. 25 - 28 Fig. 37 to 42 - https://www.coordinatiezenne.be/waterinbrussel.pdf Fig. 43 - http://users.skynet.be/fa210920/images/DSCF0840_25.jpg Fig. 44 - https://lacapitale.sudinfo.be/106615/article/2017-07-24/la-fontaine-de-jamblinne-de-meux-sec Fig. 45 - https://bx1.be/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Capture-74.png Fig. 46 - http://leshistoiresasoso.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Bruxelles-sculpture-de-Calder.jpg Fig. 47 - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Brussels_Park_in_summer_2007 Fig. 48 - https://o2.llb.be/image/thumb/536bb0a53570c557ffc84dbd.jpg Fig. 49 - https://www.hln.be/brussel/opening-zwembad-sint-joost-uitgesteld-tot-oktober Fig. 50 - https://o3.llb.be/image/thumb/54eaf90e35700d7522bdd218.jpg

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Fig. 51 - https://www.stadium.be/sites/default/files/pool.jpg Fig. 52 - https://www.origin.eu/project.cfm?pro=95&lang=fr Fig. 53 - https://siena.rosselcdn.net/sites/default/files/dpistyles_v2/ena_16_9_extra_big/2019/10/03/ Fig. 54 - https://www.villaempain.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/slide5.jpg Fig. 55 - https://mapio.net/images-p/3869217.jpg Fig. 56 - https://brusselswithkids.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/gh3.jpg Fig. 57 - https://img.lepetitmoutard.be/640/parc-pirsoul_3072014153329.jpg Fig. 58 - https://berchem.brussels/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/DSC_9291-350x250.jpg Fig. 59 - https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/6VOFNcGrUR0AIHQQWVoYHtnWmPb8 Fig. 60 - https://o2.ldh.be/image/thumb/5715e85b35702a22d686871d.jpg Fig. 61 - https://environnement.brussels/sites/default/files/user_files/illufrnl2.jpg Fig. 62 - https://environnement.brussels/sites/default/files/user_files/illufrnl.jpg Fig. 63 - https://jacquesteller.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/rapport_et_alleedukaai.pdf Fig. 64 - https://bx1.be/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Capture-76.png Fig. 65 - https://photocory.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/water-flagey-brussels-children-playing.jpg Fig. 66 - https://www.lalibre.be/pietonnier-le-chantier-de-la-place-de-la-bourse-demarre-lundi Fig. 67 - Google Earth, Administrative Centre 3D (Brussels) Fig. 68 - Cantraine, Y. 2007. La Cité administrative de l’Etat, Brussels: Direction Monuments et Sites, p. 3 Fig. 69 - Cantraine, Y. 2007. La Cité administrative de l’Etat, Brussels: Direction Monuments et Sites, p. 4 Fig. 70 - Cantraine, Y. 2007. La Cité administrative de l’Etat, Brussels: Direction Monuments et Sites, p. 5 Fig. 71 - Cantraine, Y. 2007. La Cité administrative de l’Etat, Brussels: Direction Monuments et Sites, p. 7 Fig. 72 - Cantraine, Y. 2007. La Cité administrative de l’Etat, Brussels: Direction Monuments et Sites, p. 26 Fig. 73 - Cantraine, Y. 2007. La Cité administrative de l’Etat, Brussels: Direction Monuments et Sites, p. 31 Fig. 74 - Cantraine, Y. 2007. La Cité administrative de l’Etat, Brussels: Direction Monuments et Sites, p. 46 Fig. 75 - Cantraine, Y. 2007. La Cité administrative de l’Etat, Brussels: Direction Monuments et Sites, p. 47 Fig. 76 - http://www.ieb.be/IMG/jpg/rac4-projet-2018.jpg Fig. 77 - http://www.ieb.be/IMG/jpg/2012-montage-fontana.jpg Fig. 78 - Google Earth, Administrative Centre (Brussels) Fig. 79 to 80 - Miroir Project by Multiple - Photographed by Matteo Lunetta Fig. 81 - https://www.exportersindia.com/mm-scrap-traders/ss-tanks-5285524.html Fig. 82 to 84 - https://watersensitivecities.org.au/solutions/case-studies/south-bank-rain-bank/

Plans and Sections.

Some of the drawings were based on previous works of A. Siraut & M. Levy. The presented endeavour are modified version of some of their base drawings.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Alexander, C. 1977. A Pattern Language, New York: Oxford University Press Cantraine, Y. 2007. La Cité administrative de l’Etat, Brussels: Direction Monuments et Sites Culot, M. 2006. Le corps et l’esprit, Brussels: Direction Monuments et Sites Diedrich, L. 2006. Landscape Architecture Europe Foundation, Basel: Birkhäuser De Roose, F. 2000. De Fonteinen van Brussel, Brussels: Lannoo Harvey, D. 2012. Rebel Cities: From the Right to the City to the Urban Revolution, London: Verso Huberty, C., Soares, P. 1998. Les canaux Bruxellois, Brussels : ADT Huizinga, J. 1950. Homo Ludens : A study of the play element in culture, Boston: The Beacon Press Nakhlé, L., Raynaud, F. 2014. Canal ? Vous avez dit Canal ?!, Brussels : ADT Lefaivre, L., De Roode, I., Fuchs, R. 2002. A. Van Eyck, The playgrounds and the city, Rotterdam: NAi Lefebvre, H. 1968. Le droit à la ville, Paris : Anthopos Petrella, R. 2001. The Water Manifesto, London: Zed Books Resseler, M. 2015. Piscine et bains publics à Bruxelles, Brussels : DBDS Stavrides, S. 2016. Common Space : The City as Commons, London: Zed Books Ltd

Papers Burger, J., Ostrom, E. 1999, Revisiting the Commons: Local lessons, Global challenges Caldwell, L., Witt, P. A. 2011, Leisure, recreation, and play from a developmental context Caljouw, S., Withagen, R. 2017, Aldo Van Eyck’s Playgrounds: Aesthetics, Affordances, and Creativity Dawson, D. 1996, Leisure and Social Class: Some neglected Theoretical Considerations Dawson, D. 2016, Social Class in Leisure : Reproduction and Resistance Dellenbaugh, M., Kip, M. 2015, Theorising the urban commons : New thoughts, tensions and paths forward Franinovic, K. 2018, Architecting Play Hardin, G. 1968, The tragedy of the Commons Purcell, M. 2009, Le droit à la ville et les mouvement urbains contemporains Rose, J. 2016, Leisure and Social Class Stavrides, S. 2015, Common Spaces as Threshold Space: Urban Commoning in the Struggles to Re-appropriate Public Space Teyssot, G. 2001, Aldo Van Eyck and the Rise of an Ethnographic Paradigm in the 1960’s Turner, V. 1969, Liminality and Communitas

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Periodicals Atelier340Muzeum. 2006, ‘24h/u de Vakancies op /a Jette-sur-Mer’, Les murmurs van la Meermin, p.1-6 Benzaouia, M. 2020, ‘A l’épreuve de l’eau’, Bruxelles en mouvement, January, p.1-22 Brunfaut, G. 1931,’Bassins de natation’, Le Document, n°87, p.1-12 Brunfaut, G. 1941, ‘Les bassins de natation et la santé publique’, Reconstruction, n°2, ,January, p.25-35 Flouquet, P.-L. 1934, ‘Piscines Modernes’, Bâtir, n°19, June, p.718 -743 Werrie, P. 1933, ‘II.Nageurs’,Bruxelles, n°1, January, p.21-23

Others publications Karkouch, H. 2019, La Baignade Urbaine: le Canal de Bruxelles Teller, J. 2014, Le plan canal, Bruxelles Vande Casteele, A. 2019, Approche Bioclimatique dans l’espace public à Bruxelles Bruxelles Environnement, Projet de plan de gestion de l’eau de la Région de Bruxelles-Capital 2016-2021 10 Octobre 2002 - Arrêté du Gouvernement de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale fixant des conditions d’exploitation pour les bassins de natation (Brussels) Donnea F.-X, Ministre Président

Video Atelier 340 Muzeum. Jette-sur-Mer, 15min (1983)- Accessible on: https://youtube/XMai4ZedOOk

Lecture Thilo Folkerts, Next season : The city as a garden, CIVA (organised on 7th Feb 2019)

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This dissertation paper was written for the educational purposes of graduating in the Master of Architecture Reproduction of this publication, by any means, is only allowed with permission