The Rampart, The Traffic Artery, and the Park; Designing for the city regions of Antwerp
Through a close reading of Antwerp’s current spatial and socio-economic composition, and the introduction of the interplay between the city’s three defining paradigms – abstracted to ‘The Rampart, the Traffic Artery, and the Park’ – this study tries to sketch a unifying strategy for Antwerp’s metropole. A strategy that embeds residential, economic, cultural, recreational, climatic, and historical motives within the different city regions. Thereby improving the connection between the left and right side of the river; transitioning the suburban region to a more polycentric structure while maintaining a spatial relation to the city; and explicitly manages the horizontal growth of the periphery. But that most importantly, captures the metropole in a single narrative from its inner-city to its outer edges. Graduation thesis prepared for the master’s degree in urban design at the Eindhoven University of Technology.
Through a close reading of Antwerp’s current spatial and socio-economic composition, and the introduction of the interplay between the city’s three defining paradigms – abstracted to ‘The Rampart, the Traffic Artery, and the Park’ – this study tries to sketch a unifying strategy for Antwerp’s metropole. A strategy that embeds residential, economic, cultural, recreational, climatic, and historical motives within the different city regions. Thereby improving the connection between the left and right side of the river; transitioning the suburban region to a more polycentric structure while maintaining a spatial relation to the city; and explicitly manages the horizontal growth of the periphery. But that most importantly, captures the metropole in a single narrative from its inner-city to its outer edges.
Graduation thesis prepared for the master’s degree in urban design at the Eindhoven University of Technology.
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Here, the start of Antwerp's harbour, can,
on the long-term also be densified. The
buildings can then respond to the
high-rise of the Geuzen weel, and guide
the traffic along the new Scheldt bridge.
ion plans of this neighbourhood.
In this neighbourhood - Geuzen weel - the
historic ditch structure of the
Borgerweertpolder is beautifully interwoven
with the orthogonal structure of Camp Tophat,
still visible in the structure of the old
Sint-Annebos. This blend caters to creating the
round shape to guide the ring park back to the
other side of the Scheldt, as well as
connecting to the orthogonal structure of the
existing morphology of Linkeroever.
This is the course of
the historic Rot beek.
Along the border of the inundation area the
buildings get a little bit higher. This section is
similar to the section along the quays. Here
the buildings also react to a larger scale.
The building gradually start
to get higher past the yacht club.
This is the ditch structure of the Borgerweertpolder.
A higher end to the
yacht club.
This is the grid of
Camp Tophat.
This shape is based on
an old bent in the Scheldt
dyke.
Here at Geuzen
weel the high-rise
responds to the
high-rise across the
river, and the large
scale of the harbour.
The villas will get
a defined border,
allowing its unique
spatial planning to
persist.
is section will also receive the
me typological transition that will
ve Zwijndrecht a more urban
ont.
Buildings
are a bit
higher here.
The access roads are guided by the building blocks.
In this neighbourhood - Middenvijver -
the orthogonal structure of Camp
Tophat and the monumental axis from
De Heem and Vanaverbeke still
present in the parcel structure of
Linkeroever are blended together.
This allows the middle section to
connect to the Geuzen weel and
Galgeweel, and simultaneously
connect to Europark.
Buildings also get a
bit higher here to
mark the entrance
of the park.
The horizontal
orientation of the
blocks creates a link
between the park
and inundation area.
Here the
park border
extends to
guide de
recreational
axis.
In the park the buildings are quite tall, about
35 metres. Which is customary in Antwerp,
however, it also serves to frame the park,
and give it a certain monumentality.
The monumental axis from the plan of
De Heem and Vanaverbeke is used to
connect the middle part of Linkeroever.
The axis ends before it gets to the
edge to not interfere with the system
of the quay or inundation area.
This monumentality is increase by the addition
of a lower strip of buildings. Champ de Mars in
Paris, was used as reference for this.
The access roads are guided by the building blocks.
Buildings are a
bit higher along
the axis.
ijk
258
Here at the entrance of
Zwijndrecht the buildings
get a bit higher to create
At the access roads the
buildings gradually get a little
bit higher to create the
effect of a gate.
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