Just another metroline?! Brussels: 19 Ambitions for a layered city

INTRODUCTION
METRO LINE 3
Studio Brussels is the second, and
last, design studio in the 2 nd master in
urban design and urban planning at KU
Leuven, Campus Sint-Lucas. The studio
aims to give students a broad perspective
on todays urban issues. Both research
and design are important components
of the students work.
Central topic is the newly planned
Metro Line 3 in Brussels. A 4 kilometer
long extention to the existing metro
network, running through a great variety
of urban tissues. The studio analysed
the planned Metro Line 3 with an open
and critical attitude. Pros and cons of
this huge piece of infrastructure have
been weighed up thoroughly. Research
and design were focussed on how the
new metro line can be integrated in
the existing urban environment and
add value to society. The final projects
were shown during a 2 day exhibition in
Les Ecuries van de Tram in Brussels in
January 2017. This book is a report of
the design studio, containing a selection
of the studio work.
With this book we aim to invite the
urban planners of the city of Brussels to
consider this huge infrastucture work as
an opportunity for integral urban design,
rather than just a technical engineering
task.
In the summer of 2016 it was
announced that the long planned
extension of Brussels metro system
will finally be installed. The addition
to the existing metro system will be
called Metro Line 3. This line will run
from the North station to Bordet with
seven stops, consisting of one stop
approximately every 500 meters.
The design of this extension dates back
to the year 1969, when the full metro
system of Brussels was planned. It is
foreseen that the first metro train on this
line will run in 2022. Metro Line 3 will
replace the current Tram Line 55. Total
costs of the project: 857 million euros.
(source: hln.be) Metro Line 3 will run
through a very diverse parts of the
city of Brussels, from the city centre
to Schaarbeek and Evere, serving over
250.000 inhabitants.
Todays cities are rich and complex
organisations that consist of multiple
systems: spatial, social, digital, ecological,
etc. It is therefore that the studio has
focussed on a wide range of topics,
using literature listed on the right.
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