We can observe a general trend. Cities and municipalities are trying to combine different functions in specific locations that are already known to the public. The renovated service campus along the Braemkasteelstraat needs a recognisable image that, in relation to the city, gives a confident image to the broader urban service provision. Accessibility, a focus on the user and recognisability are essential elements in the overall image. The service centre offers a very varied range of services. Various functions are bundled there with a view to new and interesting synergies.
A new project for the site is therefore seized as a unique opportunity. Not only to define and efficiently support the renewed operation, but also to make a valuable contribution to the public space on a larger scale. The social importance calls for architectural quality, spaces should reflect the dynamics of the partners and their different functions. The combination of primary school, library, police station, academy and more thus becomes an active part of everyday life through a solid and welcoming presence in the streetscape. In this way, the service centre remains a reference point on the mental map of not only the local residents but also all passers-by.
We want to reflect the ambitions for the site spatially: an image value anchored in the collective memory of the city, a unique presence within the urbanised area on the one hand, and the underlying green pool on the other. The permeability, the connection with other public buildings and important public spaces, these are all factors that make the new service centre stand out as a contemporary actor within a more complex society.
client
City of Ghent
location
Gentbrugge, Ghent, Belgium
period
2018
procedure
Public competition
team
Lieven Achtergael, Isabelle Dierickx, Dirk Liekens, Kris Broidioi, Jeffrey Berghman, Thomas Demoen, Jolien Hoofteer, Maarten De Pestel, Adrian Vankeirsblick
i.c.w.
BM Engineering (structural and technical engineering), Buro Groen (landscape architecture), Bureau de Fonseca (acoustical engineering), Feys (safety coordination)