Caruso St John Architects

2007
Location: Kortrijk, Belgium
Project Status: Competition, second prize

Our project was intended to combine the presence of a landmark with an urban sensibility to lend spatial structure and purpose to the proposed open spaces of Kotrijk Weide.

Kotrijk Weide is a new kind of urban territory. Its buildings are conceived of as objects that have been freed from the tight urban fabric of the historic city. Unlike the ‘terrain vague’ of the industrial areas to the south of the site, the space between buildings is characterised by a generous and varied provision of public open space. The building acts as a fulcrum at the centre of Kotrijt Weide. A broad tower, with the proportion of a palazzo, faces east to form a vertical counterpoint to the low linear volume of the adjacent NMBS railway building. The physical presence and public programmes of these two buildings impart an intensity and spatial definition to the proposed public square. A long low façade commands the full width of the proposed park to the north of the site. This calm presence provides a backdrop to the landscape of the park and to the residential towers that are proposed along the bank of the river Leie. The north east façade is oriented directly to the entry point of Kotrijk Weide and towards the historic city beyond. Marked by a deep canopy and a wide glazed foyer, this is the public entrance to the Politiekantor. Its scale connects it to the fabric of the city and its position provides a bridge between the public square and the park, between the Politiekantoor and the city.