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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4. There is an interplay between the second and third paradigm in the
planned ring park. The park paradigm is the dominant defining element of
the city, but there is also a traffic artery planned in the shape of a tram line
and bicycle highway; transport modes that are viewed as less disruptive.
There seems to be no conscious link to the first paradigm.
5. In the Leien – the inner-city’s major traffic artery – we see an interplay
between all three paradigms, creating a structure that very carefully shows
the historical development of the city. The spirit of the former Spaanse
Omwalling lives on not just in the morphological shape of the Leien and
the former lunette of Herentals now turned into the city park, but also in the
rows of trees planted on the boulevard. A reminder to the trees planted on
the rampart. This creates a subtle historical link that is used to contribute to
the creation of a more pleasant atmosphere on the boulevard.
6. This interaction between the three paradigms in which elements from one
paradigm are used to solve a problem, or improve the spatial quality of
one of the other paradigms, might be a useful method for the city to adopt
in the ring park. Introducing the water element from the first paradigm
might for instance, help alleviate some of the effects of climate change. On
a larger scale, the leftover structure of the first paradigm might give direction
to the polycentric development or structuring of the peripheral areas.
At the same time, a link like this could establish a powerful connection to
recreation and heritage.
7. Linkeroever has a chance to develop into a proper city district, due to the
Ring project and the disconnecting of the Charles de Costerlaan. Throughout
its history, Linkeroever has never developed to anything more than a
place you go through to get to the other side of the river. First by train and
ferry, and currently with the highway that literally cuts Linkeroever in half at
the Charles de Costerlaan. The Scheldt as national border, the use as inundation
area, all the failed plans, and the tabula rasa type of development;
8. Linkeroever’s morphology contrasts hard with that of the city of Antwerp
and its surrounding villages; the former was planned all at once in a grid
pattern, the latter is the result of years of development along a linear pattern
(lintbebouwing);
9. Historical layers on Linkeroever are more difficult to read than is the case
for the rest of Antwerp; the palimpsest-like development that is present in
the city and suburb is almost non-existent on Linkeroever. Historic structures
pre-1900 are almost not present on Linkeroever due to the elevation of the
terrain in the twentieth century;
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