Project Gent-Sint-Pieters
DE LINK
“The link between project partners” Critical reflection on the project ‘DE LINK’ GENT - SINT - PIETERS by Hannes Van Damme
Shinning Diamond_ At the Koningin Fabiolalaan the firms Sofa and Euro Immo Star wants to strike an office building in the form of a diamond - designed by the New York bureau Asymptote. Euro Immo Star co-ordinates the work and private developer Sofa, owner of the land, wants to builds the new ING headquarters of East Flemish region at zone B. Once again, the primary concern of these ‘private’ constructors is anything but the viability in the neighborhood. These are common problems within a large-scale project, but then a strong master plan should provide a framework in witch owners, contractors, city planners and neighborhoods could all agree and work together. This should be the master plan of XDGA that won the competition in 1999. Their clearness of the competition design dissapeared when the team of XDGA had to reform the master plan in 2003, towards the several owners. Today the actual performed elements of the design are small remaining connections out of the original design.
I quote the Flemish Building master 2010, Marcel Smets: “I’m perhaps terribly naïve, but the properties around the railways are state-owned, and this may not serve for private companies. By the separation between the patrimony and infrastructure of railways this kind of incidences happened Role of the city_ a lot. Therefore these areas, which are very strategic places in our cities and are now the subject of In this kind of projects you would expect a major role in participation of the city, but the city council speculation.” stays rather at the background. They should funcThe project site is complex due to his multilayered tion as owners, guiders, investors and city planownership, functions, infrastructure and unfulfilled ners. For me, the city council is in a duality with the expectations. The six owners are; the Flemish re- requirements towards his inhabitants but also his gion, NMBS holding & Infrabel, De lijn, Nv. Sofa role to attract investors to his city that will lead to (development first zones) and the city of Ghent. innovation. In first stadium the city council fulfilled Most of the build environment is done by Nv. Sofa, his role in attracting investors, but offered a too a subsidiary company of Eurostation, which in turn flexible framework in witch the owners, investors depends entirely on the NMBS Holding, the com- and residents made their expectations. Now that pany that is initially created to run the trains on the project becomes more understandable and the proposed volumes, facades and heights get time. their image, the city receives the necessary counWithin their understanding and relationships, the teraction from the neighborhoods, that I expected. project partners had decided to skip architectural competitions for the new buildings, what lead to The city needed probably a different approach, so a minimal architectural quality. An example of this that the counteractions were not directed to the could be the inappropriate and unpleasant plac- entire project. Management and communication es along the underpass from the station to a 90m that phases the project would lead to a more spehigh social housing block next to the tracks. On cific debate with neighborhoods, developers, city other buildings where the ownership lays in hand planners and owners. At this moment the project of project developers, major esplanades will be is in a downwards spiral and has a negative effect on city dwellers and new investors. made at the entrances. Hannes Van Damme, International Master of Architecture