RESEARCH BY DESIGN AS METHODOLOGY FOR A HOLISTIC APPROACH TOWARDS THE REGENERATION OF THE MODERNIST HOUSING SITE ARENAWIJK OF RENAAT BRAEM

Abstract

This proposal elaborates on the ongoing regeneration of the Arenawijk in Antwerp (BE), a modernist housing ensemble, designed by one of Belgium’s most renowned modernist architects Renaat Braem (1910-2001), between 1964 and 1971. Over the past few years, a series of design competitions were organised to remodel the site, including partial demolition and replacement of the original blocks. We argue, however, that the underlying design brief of these recent competitions contrasts with the site’s unique heritage values, defined by the Flanders Heritage Agency as having “a significant ensemble-value”.

The project site is divided into different ‘plots’, caused by the dispersed ownerships. Furthermore, the program was fixed beforehand and focuses solely on housing, therefore losing an opportunity to open a debate on which type of programme would best respect the value of the site. A change of function can be key to tackling the limitations and restrictions a building from the modernist period comprises and can make it less dependent on strict performance requirements that are difficult to achieve or not applicable for this particular type of construction. This makes our case study a vivid example of the hiatus in the approach towards this modernist typology: the options for adaptive reuse remain unexplored.

The site has a very rich palimpsest as Braem’s design follows the outer circumference of the historical bastions of the remaining fortress in the heart of the district, now reused as sporting complex. Nonetheless, the Fortress of Deurne is a blind spot on the plans of the competing architecture firms. Therefore, this paper questions the loss of the ensemble-value. We use research by design to examine alternative interventions. New models are proposed departing from a holistic rather than dispersed approach, which heralds new insights. In a first set of design ideas the landscape becomes representative of the cultural expression of the site. The zoom out on different scales as the images show, helps to re-identify the fortress which is currently amputated from the surrounding green zones.

The paper starts with the rich historical context of the Arenawijk, based on archival research as the original design process was extensively documented. Secondly, the current debate about the site and the recent design competitions are explored. Next, the first design explorations and results by the first author are introduced and evaluated. In conclusion, we regard modernism as an unfinished project and its best moment is perhaps yet to come.