Anamorphosis of the landscape
Boris Bouchet (FR)
Jérôme Lafond (FR)
Thomas Nouailler (FR)
Yvan Okotnikoff (FR)
architects
Europan 9 Andenne
winner
Between the Meuse and the railway line, in a suburban, inter-urban and industrial area, the challenge is to enable both a new neighbourhood and a new landscape to emerge. The project presents itself as an inhabited distortion of the riverbank, combining key local distinctives with the operation of two major networks (river and rail). The main public area is the "platform/quayside" - an urban variation on the towpath motif which serves as the fulcrum for the layout of various levels, planted areas, and the locality's distinctive topographical features. The existence of a large number of working stone quarries in the valley and its vicinity allow a new route to the sustainable town to be explored. The approach allows an object-motif to coexist at both the local and overall scales, based on a concept of cultural hybridisation which combines architecture and infrastructure and rejects any distinction between public places and private property.
This project is connected to the following themes
Mobility - Interface
By employing a strategy of folding and unfolding between the train station and the riverbanks, both of which are interpreted as embankments, the project generates a productive tension and connects the site to a wider network.
Shared spaces - A Frame for social life
Between the River Meuse and a railway line, the new district seeks to establish shared spaces through its topographical configuration and a series of motif-objects.
Nature - Working with
The stone extracted by local mining activities and the endemic vegetation of the river form the basic elements of the transformation of docks.