E-Book, Englisch, Band 02, 160 Seiten
E-Book, Englisch, Band 02, 160 Seiten
Reihe: The Practice of Theory and the Theory of Practice
ISBN: 978-3-88778-904-6
Verlag: AADR – Art Architecture Design Research
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Wasserzeichen (»Systemvoraussetzungen)
Authors include the architect and researcher Tatjana Schneider, editor of the publication Spatial Agency (Routledge 2011); the activist architect Petra Pferdmenges from alive architecture in Brussels, the architectural theorist Peter Lang; the architect and artist Tor Lindstrand; as well as Rochus Hinkel, whose research focuses on the intersections between interior, architecture and urban environments.
Zielgruppe
Architekten, Designer, Innenarchitekten, Interior Designer, Hochschullehrer, Studenten, Doktoranden
Weitere Infos & Material
Inclusive City-Making
Petra Pferdmenges Fig. 1: Multiple actors visiting the Josaphat site in Brussels, summer 2015. Photo: Hanne van Reusel. Over the past fifteen years it has become increasingly common for local actors, artists and urban activists to occupy vacant sites in the city fabric prior to their top-down urban development. Currently, the best-known example in Brussels is the Josaphat site to the east of the region. The urban planning for the site was developed with no participatory process – apart from the organization of one information session about decisions that had already been taken. In contrast to that, several local non-profit organizations began activating the site by creating opportunities to generate encounter there, through initiatives including a vegetable garden and cultural events. The Common Josaphat Collective, in close collaboration with active local associations, is developing and promoting a more socially engaged vision that could be integrated into the transformation of the site. While such a message might get through to those who hold the decision-making power, the bottom-up appropriation of the public realm too often remains temporary, and its visions risk having a too limited impact on the development of the city. By describing and reflecting upon two case studies that I developed through my Alive Architecture practice in Brussels, the first a bottom-up initiative and the second project developed within a top-down framework, I will describe how I overcame the divide between bottom-up and top-down urban planning in order to stimulate co-production of the public realm in Brussels. Case study 1: Infrared In 2012, in the context of the 60th anniversary of Jonction, the Brussels north-south railway connection, I was invited, together with Stijn Beeckman and Barbara Roosen, to reflect on the neighbourhood of the Brussels red-light district. While Barbara developed several urban proposals for the Kwatrechtstraat, Stijn, together with a colleague, made a movie of the Kwatrechtstraat and the rue d’Aerschot. I concentrated on observing the existing urban situation in the street and the needs of local actors to gauge the possibility of improving the quality of life in the street through small transformations, three of which I tested through temporary urban actions. Our work was exhibited for three months in the Brussels art gallery Recyclart. Fig. 2: In the Brussels red-light street, rue d’Aerschot, sex-workers advertise their services to potential clients in 58 windows.
Photo: Alive Architecture. Activating Vacant Space Besides the many windows in the street occupied by sex-workers advertising their services to potential clients, I noted the presence of many vacant spaces, eight of them situated at ground level along the 700-metre-long street. Fig. 3: Observing the signs used in the ground-floor windows advertising for a ‘waitress’. Photo: Alive Architecture. I set out to prompt an uptake of the vacant ground-floor spaces for enterprises or activities other than prostitution, in order to generate mixed use along the street. As I had neither a budget to activate the spaces myself nor a client willing to support and finance such a project, I borrowed the approach of the on cherche serveuse (Waitresses wanted) signs in the windows of the so-called bars in order to solicit possible uses for these spaces. Just as the existing windows use adverts to find sex-workers, I posted adverts to find people to rent the spaces (on cherche locataire) in each of the eight vacant ground floors. Fig. 4: I placed signs on the vacant windows advertising for a tenant to rent this space. Photo: Alive Architecture. Engaging with Local Actors I set up an email address which I placed on the signs, but I never received a single email. However, the initiative proved to be a successful way to engage with people directly in the rue d’Aerschot, especially with passing men: ‘This space is for rent? How much is it? I know a lot of people who are looking for a place in the area. Not necessarily to turn it into a prostitution salon, it could be something else.’ Kris, passer-by ‘Are you renting a space? I am very interested! This shop is not mine as I work for someone. If there was another ground floor I would like to rent it. Could you keep me updated?’ Singh, worker in a night shop, rue d’Aerschot ‘How much is the space and how big is it? I would like to rent a place to live. I don’t mind if it is on the ground floor.’ Ba, passer-by Fig. 5: Drawing of potential client and interview with him. Illustration: Alive Architecture. This and a number of other experiments allowed me to engage with numerous locals in order to find out about their desires for the rue d’Aerschot. Urban Vision Based upon the needs that I identified, I developed eleven proposals to improve the quality of life in the rue d’Aerschot, Brussels’ red-light street, that could be realized through quick and cheap urban interventions. I staged three temporary events to test some of the proposals. One of these was the activation of the 400-meter-long grey wall in the street. Fig. 6: View of the street with Emilie Haquin’s director, responsible for ‘prevention urbaine’, an agency which aims to prevent ‘problems’ in public spaces. Photo: Alive Architecture. Fig. 7 (p.22): Interview with Emilie Haquin, translated from French into English. Illustration: Alive Architecture. Fig. 8 (p.23): Activation of a ground floor space in the Brussels red-light district. Photo: Rirbaucout Collective. Communication In order to activate this wall temporarily and to communicate my vision for the street, I organized an exhibition on it. I invited multiple actors, including responsible people from the city hall, and engaged with several people to hear their opinion of the project and I made drawings of the people I interviewed. Besides Emilie Haquin, the person in charge of urban intervention in the street her director also attended the event. The following link takes you to a film of the project: http://www.alivearchitecture.eu/index.php?/urban-margins/infrared-film-2/ Beyond Ephemeral To my great satisfaction, six months after I had organized the event, a call for urban actions to generate greater respect in the rue d’Aerschot was launched. I worked on the project together with L’Escaut Architecture, OKUP and Sébastien Lo Sardo. The overall budget from the local council for the project was 40,000 euros. Our proposals were similar to what I had developed in the Infrared project: to activate a vacant ground floor, to paint the grey wall and to close the street to cars. The only idea accepted by our client was the activation of one of the vacant ground floors. We invited the Rirbaucout collective to organize multiple events for two months at 94 rue d’Aerschot. Besides setting up a food delivery service they ran yoga lessons and film projections. Fig. 9 (top-right): Parckdesign 2014: Parckfarm – Site before intervention. Photo: Taktyk & Alive Architecture. Fig. 10 (bottom-right): Parckdesign 2014: Parckfarm – Site after intervention. Photo: Taktyk & Alive Architecture. Fig. 11: Parckdesign 2014: Parckfarm – Mister Emma interviews Momo on his terrace. Photo: Taktyk & Alive Architecture. Bottom-up / Top-down The launch of a call for urban actions, following the exhibition that I organized on the wall, was a great lesson on how crucial it is to communicate ideas to those with decision-making powers. If this exhibition had not taken place, the call for ideas might never have been published and the activated window would never have come about. Case study 2: Parckdesign 2014 - Parckfarm Parckdesign is a design biennale that lasts for 5 months and aims to experiment with different ways of making public space in Brussels. It was initiated by the IBGE/BIM (the civic environment service of the Brussels Region). The biennale site is the first phase in the creation of the largest regional park in Brussels. The three-hectare site of the biennale to the northwest of Thurn & Taxis (a private property of 40 hectares in the centre of Brussels and currently in the development for luxury housing and office spaces) will gradually extend to a park of 20 hectares in total, stretching all the way to the canal. As curators, my Alive Architecture practice in collaboration with Taktyk landscape architects expanded the design intervention from Built Space to Lived Space, stimulating social life in the new urban park (see fig.10). The following link takes you to a film of the project: http://www.alivearchitecture.eu/index.php?/urban-margins/parckfarm-film/ Parck + Farm = Parckfarm Through our initial fieldwork and encounters, the recognition of the as found qualities in the former railway embankment informed our proposal. We discovered an impressive network of residents and local associations who had turned the margins of this wasteland into collective gardens, animal farms and a pigeon shelter. Rather than imposing a new identity on the...
