406EPM
Program
Urban study
Location
Berchem-Sainte-Agathe
Date
2023
Themes
Urban, Public
Phase
Ongoing
Surfaces
20 000 m2
Team
Architectures Parallèles, Ann Voets, Stratec, Ecorce, Radiance
Client
Commune de Berchem-Sainte-Agathe
Budget
-
Development of public spaces in the Cité Moderne
Making room for a welcoming landscape
At the heart of the Cité Moderne, the redevelopment of the garden city's public spaces is at the crossroads of contrasting ambitions, heritage-related on the one hand and social on the other.
Listed in the Brussels inventory of architectural heritage, the modernist architecture of the city designed by Victor Bourgeois and Louis Van der Swaelmen is closely linked with the landscape, whether in terms of the urban planning of the roads, the surroundings of the houses and their gardens, or the public spaces, with the Place des Coopérateurs and its cubist garden as an emblematic example. Nevertheless, the daily use of these spaces has been neglected, and today some people view them with apprehension.
In its current state, the expansion of asphalt roads, combined with a reduction in planted areas and their plant diversity, has considerably reduced the landscape character of the city present in the original design by Bourgeois and Van der Swaelmen. The result is a lack of conviviality, reinforced by the outdated and poorly maintained nature of the city's public spaces and architecture.
At the same time, this neglect may have contributed to inequality in the use of the premises. The non-profit organisation Garance has carried out fieldwork on gender issues, illustrating that women, children and elderly people find few or no outdoor spaces where they feel comfortable within the Cité.
The opportunity to renovate the entire Cité Moderne: Restoring complementarities
The project is part of the ‘Cité Moderne’ Sustainable Neighbourhood Contract (SNC) launched on 1 August 2021, which marks the first recognition of the need to restore the public spaces of the Garden City and its surroundings, as well as its architecture. This accumulation of construction sites offers the opportunity to tinker with a complementary vision for the design of public spaces and the work on housing blocks, as envisaged in the original master plan.
The perimeters of the master plan include the entire built environment of the Cité Moderne; the edge of the Zavelenberg plateau along the Rue Openveld via Place de l'Initiative and Place Oscar Ruelens, and the gardens of the Jean-Christophe complex, which are central locations in the neighbourhood.
What makes this neighbourhood contract unique is the participatory work on gender issues carried out with the non-profit organisation ‘Garance’, which has been involved since the early stages of the project's design, as well as a number of social projects that accompany the design of public spaces, the assessment of needs and habitability.
Re-establishing connections between places, and between places and their inhabitants
In its original design, the project by Victor Bourgeois and Louis Van der Swaelmen comprises a network of open spaces of varying sizes and shapes, offering a variety of places and atmospheres conducive to calm and relaxation (Rue des Ebats and Rue de la Gérance), play, gatherings and neighbourhood life (Place de l'Initiative and Place des Coopérateurs).
In response to this situation and in order to make the project more affordable, the proposal suggests taking a precise, clear-cut approach. A series of connecting elements have been chosen, devised in consultation with local stakeholders and residents, such as steps, footpaths, signposting a passageway with new lighting and planting a tree to provide shade.
Alongside these precise interventions, three squares and a garden are restructured to be more pedestrian-friendly and the soil more permeable. This is translated into the public space by a network of play and living areas created in consultation with users. The soil composition and slopes are designed to drain rainwater from the higher part of the valley, considering the location of the Cité Moderne on the ridge.
