Carlo Moccia • Uwe Schröder • Wim van den Bergh
AN IDEOGRAPHY FOR THE LINKEROEVER
Thinning Out and Densifying. New Urban Out- and Inside Spaces for the Linkeroever
The plan illustrating our idea should be read as an ideography, as a spatial scenario and not as an urban plan. In this ideography we interpreted the Linkeroever as a general spatial condition we generally find in the periphery of the contemporary European City, and as such we try to show how in such circumstances some spatial order and urban form might be created by making a clear distinction between two spatial identities: 'space defined by objects, or space within volumes' and 'space surrounding objects, or space between volumes'.
Applying this principle to the Linkeroever results, by means of thinning out and densifying, in a set of compact quarters identified as 'urban inside space'. On a larger scale the resulting urban tissue of these quarters together, would again be embedded in the other spatial identity, 'urban outside space', formed by both the encompassing open space and the central green space with their freestanding objects. In this way also a bit more order and orientation would be generated in the different spatial scales that at present characterize the Linkeroever.
In this ideography the existing elements are indicated in grey and the red elements should be read as indicating the zones for spatial intervention. As one can imagine these spatial intervention zones are also the zones harbouring the potential for further densification on the Linkeroever. However one will also have to understand that these interventions will be strongly dependent on opportunities, so as such the ideography again does not represent an urban plan, but a spatial strategy in time.
To clarify how these intervention zones might be transformed and what this means in terms of urban morphology, we introduced a set of abstract illustrations, which show the transformation from the existing objects to the new spatial objects and the resulting perspectival view this generates.
Our traffic structure shows a clear devision between fast and slow traffic. This has to do with the fact that each type of traffic enters this 'new part of the centre of Antwerp' from a different side. On the one hand the slow traffic comes from the dense inner city of Antwerp — and hopefully in the future this will be via a clearly visible connection over the river — to enter the new part of the centre from the 'front or inside'. Meaning that from the dense inner city (the one spatial identity) one enters into the open parklike central space (the other spatial identity) on the East side of the Linkeroever.
On the other hand the fast traffic passes via the Waaslandtunnel and the spine of the Charles De Costerlaan, to then enter the new part of the center, i.e. the denser areas, somehow from the 'back or outside'. The two northerly quarters are reached via the August Vermeylenlaan and the southerly quarters via the Halewijnlaan. Also notice the discontinuation of the Glorialaan and the Thonetlaan for fast traffic, at the central park.
To get a process of densification going it will be necessary to set up a limit of further expansion towards the West. So we indicated a kind of dens green border zone stretching all the way from north to south, along the August Vermeylenlaan and the Halewijnlaan and then all the way down to the Galgenweel. From here then the green belt would arc all the way back as the soft leisure bank of the River Schelde. Together with the central park this green belt would give a clear identity to the Scheldepark Linkeroever, in the womb of which the city can then further expand and densify.
PDF_An Ideograhpy for the Linkeroever
PDF_Een Ideografie voor de Linkeroever
PDF_Bauwelt 23.2017
Projekt: Linkeroever, Antwerpen [Städtebaulicher Ideenwettbewerb]
Anmerkung/en: Carlo Moccia/Uwe Schröder/Wim van den Bergh
Ort: Antwerpen, Belgien
Jahr: 2017 - 2017
Ausstellungen: Mostra Internazionale di Architettura, La città Progetti urbani, Padova 2017, Ausstellung "Städtebaulicher Ideenwettbewerb Linkeroever" im Rahmen von: Festival van de architectuur, Antwerpen 2017
Mitarbeit: Matthias Storch, Constantin von Richter, Christian Schramm, Davide Maccarone, Roberta Privitera, Domenico Cristofalo
Publikationen: Uitdunnen en verdichten. Nieuwe stedelijke buiten- en binnenruimten voor Linkeroever / Thinning Out and Densifying. New Urban Out- and Inside Spaces for the Linkeroever, Città nello spazio e nel tempo / Stadt in Raum und Zeit, Sprung über die Schelde, La torre e lo spazio, Città degli spazi
Projekte: Europark