STUK verbouwt

few bicycle sheds and car parking
spaces. The access staircase that
descends from Naamsestraat to the
reception also looked shabby after
some time. More and more visitors
still used the ground-floor entrance
and then descended via the cafe on
the ground floor to the reception
or the courtyard. Another problem
was the lack of bicycle parking at
that entrance. It became clear that
the building needed a facelift when
the passageway ceiling under STUK
Soetezaal gave way.
Better, not different
Carl Meeusen did not witness the
new building’s opening in 2002.
Shortly before, he started a practice
as an osteopath in Antwerp. ‘I
wanted to do something with my
diploma,’ he chuckles. However,
by a strange twist of fate, he later
became an employee and eventually
a co-manager at NRA. This was
due to their excellent cooperation
during the construction. ‘I don’t
know anything about construction,
but I’m very good at organising.
That was what I did at STUK as the
renovation’s project leader. When
NRA later looked for someone to
run a project, they gave me a call. I
started working for them part-time,
and now it’s almost full-time’.
Since it was logical for NRA to
do the new renovation, the curious
situation arose where Meeusen is
now involved as an ‘architect’ in
renovating the refurbishment of
which he was once the client. You
can’t be more up to speed than that.
‘We still had long conversations.
A lot has changed since
2002: mobility is changing in
Leuven, so more bicycle sheds are
needed. Ticket counters fell into
disuse. Thus the question arose as
to whether the reception should
remain the main entrance. Today
there is a more vigorous insistence
that people with disabilities can
navigate through the building unaided,
which is currently difficult. A
catch-up in terms of sustainability
was also necessary. The single-glazing
in the offices isn’t acceptable an-
ymore. There are also some repairs
and the relocation of the sanitary
facilities to an indoor space. Then
you quickly reach the limits of the
budget, even though it’s three million
euros.
Hence, major adjustments
were not possible, but they were
also not necessary. ‘This renovation
was a good thinking exercise.
When people use a building day in
and day out, they lose sight of its
purpose. Through the discussions,
we concluded together with the
STUK team that the original design
is still valuable and appropriate
but needs an upgrade here and
there. For example, we shall make
the stairs to the reception and
Naamsestraat more gradual and
spacious. The square on Schapenstraat
will become a second main
entrance with ample space for
bicycles. This is possible because
you no longer necessarily have to
pass the ticket counter when visiting.
We add extra lifts to increase
accessibility. So the building will
be improved and more comfortable,
but will remain as you knew it.’
––
INSERT STUK BUILDING
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STUK ON LOCATION
The STUK building will be closed
from November onwards, but the
STUK programme will be richer
than ever. During the renovation
period, STUK will be all over the
place with an exclusive location
programme. Unique locations will
add to an extraordinary artistic
experience. The wayward Canadian
company Le Patin Libre makes the
elegance and velocity of ice skaters
on an ice rink almost tangible,
Listen Here: These Woods lets you
look at trees in the woods in a
mindful way, Seppe Baeyens based
his performance Birds on the public
space and world renowned company
Rosas performs their key piece
Drumming inside the Velodrome.
And last but certainly not least, we
present a sound exhibition with a
series of tantalizing sound installations
throughout the city, so you
can discover how Leuven sounds by
bike or on foot. Don’t miss our artistic
Spring 2022, it will be something
to remember.
––
WILLEM, OUR FACILITY
MANAGER TALKS ABOUT THE
WHYS AND WHEREFORES OF
THE RENOVATION
A NEW BUILDING AS A
NUTRITIONAL
SUPPLEMENT
– Karla Vanraepenbusch
‘The new building will once again
bring chaos to our operations. STUK
has become a well-oiled machine,
but I fear that this could turn into
perfectionism. In the long term, this
is detrimental to innovation in the
arts. I hope that the new building
will have a disruptive effect. We
want to encourage experiment,’ says
Willem Vanderhoydonks, infrastructure
manager at STUK. He keeps the
place running and is coordinating
the renovations, about which he is
happy to tell us more.
Why was STUK in need of a
renovation?
The main reason is safety. The
historic parts of the building were
partly renovated in 2002, but there
was not enough budget to complete
the renovation. This has created
situations that will no longer be safe
in the long term.
The second major problem is accessibility.
The height difference between
Naamsestraat and Schapenstraat
is 17 metres, so you constantly
have to climb stairs to get anywhere.
The site is not accessible, especially
for people with visual impairment,
walking difficulties, or wheelchair.
So we consulted the Accessibility
Committee, a panel of experience
experts in the city. They specified
62 63
problems and provided advice. Then
we started working on these.
The third reason is environmental.
The heating and lighting could
be much more energy-efficient. The
windows are single glazed and must
be replaced by double glazing. The
rainwater simply runs into the sewage
system, which we want to tackle
with infiltration crates. We also
want to ensure that our sanitary
facilities run on rainwater instead
of tap water. These are all targeted
interventions to reduce our environmental
footprint significantly.
STUK’s artistic activities also
need more space. Currently, STUK’s
activities are limited to what the
programmers line up in the existing
spaces. Therefore, we want to create
a new auditorium, which for the time
being, we are calling the Offspace.
It will be a multifunctional soundproof
room for concerts, exhibitions,
debates, and the like. We also want
to upgrade STUK Paviljoenenzaal
by installing a coworking space,
workshop spaces and an audio studio.
There will also be a new office
for the LOKO Cultuur students to
keep the dynamics young and fresh.
In this new storey, we want to give
more space to bottom-up initiatives.
Leuven is in need of this.
Finally, we want to renew the
outdoor infrastructure. Most visitors
see Naamsestraat as STUK’s
front and Schapenstraat as the
back. Consequently, all bicycles end
up at Naamsestraat, but there is no
room there. So we shall rearrange
everything. The hindrance on
Naamsestraat is spread out, creating
a better situation for the entire
locality. It will also be more welcoming
with added green space and
benches. And we are installing an
integrated lighting plan so that our
visitors feel safe at night. We want
to make the building and the public
space more legible and accessible.
Who invests in the
renovations?
We currently have a budget of
4.4 million euros. We obtained
2.4 million euros through the
Cultural Infrastructure Fund of the
Flemish Community. The City of
Leuven and the Catholic University
of Leuven have both committed
750 thousand euros. STUK will cover
the remaining amount, which is
currently about 500 thousand euros.
Why doesn’t STUK just stay
open during the renovation?
We considered working in phases
by closing STUK one part at a time
and keeping the rest of the building
open, but that’s very difficult in
our inner-city historical context.
Moreover, it is much cheaper to do
the demolition work first, then the
joinery, the interior finishing, and
so on, than to repeat this process
for each part of the building. Besides,
the public can’t experience
art safely on a construction site.
That’s why we have decided to close
STUK temporarily from 15 November
2021. The renovation period
has been set at nine months, so if
all goes well, STUK will reopen in
September 2022.
Does STUK’s closure mean that
public activities will stop?
Our programmers have worked
hard to keep our public activities
thriving beyond STUK’s walls.
Though the building is closed to the
public, STUK is setting up projects
all over Leuven. There are a lot of
excellent projects that are already
on the agenda. For example, the
KNAL! city festival, of which STUK
is the supporting partner for the
sound section, the Planetarium
Music Festival.
What do you think the impact
of the new building will be on
STUK’s operations?
Firstly, there are all the new performances
that we shall programme
in the Offspace. Of course, this is an
addition to STUK’s cultural offerings
and Leuven’s cultural offerings
that STUK also supports. It’s not
that we want to produce all those
new performances in the Offspace
ourselves. We hope that others will
come and programme new performances
at STUK that we hadn’t
thought of.
Secondly, we see the new building
layer as a nutritional supplement
to our operations. We shall
continue doing what we have always
done in the arts centre – dance,
image and sound. But in addition,
STUK Paviljoenenzaal, with its
coworking space, workshop spaces
and audio studio, will have a new
public function that we hope will
inspire the arts centre. It’s difficult
to forecast how this will develop,
but that unpredictability is precisely
the point. We want to encourage the
experiment. Who knows, someone
will one day lay the foundation for
a new performance in the workshop
space, which will eventually end up
in our STUK Soetezaal. We want
to give our visitors the freedom to
create and offer opportunities to
emerging talent.
What are the conditions for
using these new facilities?
We want to keep the requirements
as limited as possible. One idea
is to link that access to the STUK
card. This will give access to STUK
Paviljoenenzaal with its coworking
space, workshop rooms and audio
studio. We hope to build a community
of creative makers there. We
want to return ownership to the
public, Leuven’s people, the students,
and everyone who wants to
come here, and we hope to create a
sense of community in that space.
Above all, the new facilities must
remain very accessible.
How do you think the new
building will impact the audiences’
experience?
I hope the impact will be immense.
From now on, the public can take
on different roles at STUK. One
moment you are watching a dance
performance in STUK Soetezaal, the
renovations
II.2