NIKKI SCHOTTE

The site is located at the port of Antwerp and subject for a more than a decay. The question lies within if some components should be kept or if everything should be demolished, so they can start again from scratch. After analyzing the surroundings we decided to demolish the existing urban fabric and obtain for a completly new masterplan that would have the potential to boost the existing social fabric of the neighbourhood.

 

URBAN DESIGN - BIG SCALE - MASTERPLAN (Group)

Through delayering the map the importance of the void shows. The quality of the unbuild is an import element that can be related with liberating the ground through the use of high-rise buildings. 

By delayering the current map we have noticed that the site has no physical connection to the surrounding neighbourhood. The site is found at the edge of centrality, next to a crucial connection point. With the integration of a high-rise iconic building (see masterplan) we are able to create an important physical and visual landmark next to centrality, boosting the potential of the mixed social fabric of the surrounding neighbourhood.

 

Once the masterplan was finalised, we started with the individual design in which we all worked out a certain part of the new masterplan. In my individual design I took the park and the educational center for my account. For us it was really important to develop a new building block that could make a subtile tansition from the small urban fabric to the big harbour infrastructure. 

 

URBAN DESIGN - SMALL SCALE - DESIGN (Individual) 

The School and kindergarten:

The building is intended to look impenetrable for the outside world. While the inner core opens up to a warm and welcoming, protected green space for the children. The embracing gesture of the building provides a high safety feeling within the city. All interior spaces are visually connected with the inner atrium. The playground provides a safe, enclosed space for the kids to play and for the parents to have a picnic on the sunny terrace. But also the classrooms are designed with the intention of flexible usage. Sliding panels make it possible to change the size of the classrooms and allows cross-class lessons and interaction. 

 

The public park: 

Integrating a green long in the city and in the neighbourhood with the use of a public park. To avoid sound transmission from traffic on the Slachthuislaan, the ground is lifted 1m above the existing street level and by the use of trees and greenery we are able to create a natural sound barrier. Within the park, the public furniture is integrated in the pavement of the park. The furniture pops out as a fluid continuation of the wooden boardwalk.