2015 France DewartFrance Dewart - architecture as a link
The Site
Call for reflection about the site of « La Chartreuse » in Liège, an old agricultural zone which became a military fort afterwards. The area of « La Chartreuse » (about 50ha) is located on the right bank of the river “La Meuse”. It’s a unique environment and landscape at the center of the agglomeration of Liege. It includes many woodlands associated with old fortifications (ramparts & bastions)
Architecture as a link
Through an expanded vision of this area and the city, the idea is to open the ramparts to the surrounding neighborhouds and their residents. This whole project is shown as a branching of links: visual, functional, gateways prioritized by buildings, green zones, boardwalks, gardens. The entire site and the neighborhouds are reconnected via the revitalization of very small existing spaces between ramparts and neighborhouds into which take place new programs (homes & community buildings).
The project is a Center of Expression and Creativity : CEC
It is rooted in the neighborhoud of “Péville” directly on the street and stands between the neighborhood and “La Chartreuse” while connecting to the existing school complexes. The project is built around public walkways. These various walkways run around the CEC and generate its spatiality. An internal rift, dynamic, considered as the backbone of this project reminds the inclined architecture of fortifications. The user moves around between workshops along this rift, discovering multiple activities. Dialogues and discoveries take place at the walks’ pace.
The rift is a place of various kinesthetic sensations. Whether it’s vertical and serves several levels of it sinks into the ground and connects a theatre or an academic library. By generating spatial changes, the rift enriches the dialog between existing neighborhoods and ramparts. With its framework, the project shows the link between clearly different workshops. Those workshops hide behind an infrastructure of wall sections articulated in planes and views offering

Download PDF