modgnikehtotsyek
ALLE WETTBEWERBSERGEBNISSE, AUSSCHREIBUNGEN UND JOBS Jetzt Newsletter abonnieren

Nichtoffener Wettbewerb | 03/2018

Kulturzentrum KANAL - Centre Pompidou Brüssel

The showroom by day, an inviting gesture serving as a public stage and offering a panoramic terrace

The showroom by day, an inviting gesture serving as a public stage and offering a panoramic terrace

Gewinner

noA architecten

Architektur

EM2N

Architektur

Sergison Bates architects

Architektur

Buro Happold

Bauingenieurwesen

Kahle Acoustics

Akustikplanung

Benoît van Innis

Kunst

BOPRO nv

sonstige Fachplanung

Licht - Joost de Beij

Lichtplanung

PONNIE Images

Visualisierung

iart ag

Design

Erläuterungstext

The well-known landmark building, a 21-metre-high glass palace at the intersection of Place de l’Yser and Quai de Willebroeck, will be one of the largest cultural venues in Europe, home to all forms of cultural creativity: the visual arts and architecture, but also dance, drama, film, literature and music. Kanal, as the venue will be known, will provide opportunities for learning as well as a framework for diverse curatorial opportunities, a network of buildings and public spaces that act as an open forum, a catalyst for debate and social interaction. The existing building is a wonderful example of elegant industrial engineering and the proposal retains as much as possible of the existing structure, returning it to its original grandeur. The ambition of the project is to embrace the industrial identity of the former factory, transforming it with a light touch and a deliberate economy of means. Already a prominent landmark, Kanal will provide a new focus of social life, its internal spaces interacting with the open spaces at the edge of the canal, three tall new additional volumes acting as beacons, inviting the city in. As well as minimising waste, pollution and reducing demolition and construction costs, this conservation strategy embraces the identity of the historical building and transforms the car factory into an urban culture factory, a place of creativity and making. Retaining traces of its past will give the venue a productive, social and informal feel rather than the all-too-often rarefied atmosphere of many international art venues. More than a container of art and a stage for performance, Kanal aims to be a public forum that can be appropriated by local residents: a welcoming place inviting visitors to wander, rest, meet or simply be.

Beurteilung durch das Preisgericht

"Patrick Berger, a member of the jury for the architecture competition for the redevelopment of the Citroën Garage, summarised the many challenges of the project in three questions: How to design successful institutions? How to link the interior public space with the rest of the city? How to build in an existing structure like the old Citroën workshops? While these questions are not new in the context of European architecture, the originality of the competition – and hence its difficulty – lies in the fact that they are combined. The complexity of the requirements has generated an equally complex response in the design of noAarchitecten, EM2N and Sergison Bates architects. Complex but coherent, multi-faceted but self-evident, powerful but refined.

The institutions – CIVA and the Museum – are installed in two new volumes at the heart of the workshops and extend beyond their roof. Here, the collections are presented on extensive levels, and the climate is controlled in accordance with strict conservation standards. Around these volumes, under the workshop roofs, transitional spaces are designed to extend the institutions’ premises and create a less restrictive climate: these can be used for a variety of purposes (CIVA reading rooms, transitory museum spaces, etc.) bringing some flexibility to the functioning of the institutions. A third volume has a rassembleur function, grouping together shared facilities such as an auditorium, educational spaces or offices.

These volumes are immersed in the public space. The idea of immersion came up several times during the discussions of the jury, and describes well the impression that the design creates. The public space is everywhere around the three new volumes, interacting with their forms and supporting them. On the ground floor, the public space provides access to the building via all its façades as well as being, of course, the setting for people’s movements and meetings and for logistics. On the first floor, the piano nobile offers a space of a different type – appropriable, indeterminate, presenting many and varied possible uses. These two floors are connected simply by keeping the existing workshop ramps.

These ramps are an excellent illustration of the architects’ approach to the third question: how do you build in the Citroën workshops? By ‘placing your trust in what’s already there’! Involving neither unconditional respect for the historical heritage nor indiscriminate demolition, the winning design is based on the existing building ‘as found’. Thus, the ramps, which were added more than twenty years after the construction of the workshops, are not seen as disruptive of the building’s original formal purity, but as an opportunity to emphasise the site’s spatial character. Conversely, the façades are restored and even extended, thus bringing together the design in a horizontal gesture. Finally, the volumes protrude above the roof in a calm, distant yet respectful manner."
The showroom at night, an iconic landmark celebrating the urban space

The showroom at night, an iconic landmark celebrating the urban space

KANAL : une scène pour Bruxelles, the Quai des charbonnages is activated by the new uses

KANAL : une scène pour Bruxelles, the Quai des charbonnages is activated by the new uses

The crossing of the interior street and the main nave, a ramp leads up to the piano nobile

The crossing of the interior street and the main nave, a ramp leads up to the piano nobile

The auditorium opens up an becomes part of the public interior street

The auditorium opens up an becomes part of the public interior street

The exhibition hall on the first level, the piano nobile opens up to the canal through large windows

The exhibition hall on the first level, the piano nobile opens up to the canal through large windows

The showroom as a stage for the city

The showroom as a stage for the city

View of the main nave with access to the exhibition spaces and galleries

View of the main nave with access to the exhibition spaces and galleries

The exhibition hall of CIVA, the openings offer views across the building and celebrate the existing structure

The exhibition hall of CIVA, the openings offer views across the building and celebrate the existing structure

The exhibition hall of MMCA offering views over Brussels

The exhibition hall of MMCA offering views over Brussels

The cultural hub KANAL in its urban context

The cultural hub KANAL in its urban context

Five big ideas – The showroom as symbol

Five big ideas – The showroom as symbol

Five big ideas – Extending horizontality

Five big ideas – Extending horizontality

Five big ideas – A strong public figure

Five big ideas – A strong public figure

Five big ideas – Three new volumes

Five big ideas – Three new volumes

Five big ideas – Production

Five big ideas – Production

Ground floor

Ground floor

Piano nobile

Piano nobile

Sections

Sections