214. Revitalization of Lanbouwbelang
The Landbouwbelang block, located in the north-east corner of the old walled city of Maastricht, borders on the Maas River to the east and the Bassin marina to the west; to the north it adjoins other industrial facilities that have already been rehabilitated for tertiary uses:
This area of the city, characterized by intense industrial activity throughout the 20th century, is now undergoing a transformation with the aim of integrating it into the central ring of the historic city. It is fair to say that Landbouwbelang is a diverse urban sector that needs to be addressed in an integrated way in architectural terms, accepting the natural coexistence of industrial-scale buildings and domestic-scale architecture within a complex environment full of contradictions.
The proposal for this area of the city intends to combine refurbishing the largest number of existing industrial buildings with a revitalization of the area through the construction of a large residential complex that can provide viability for the operation as a whole. Most of the large spaces associated with the existing industrial structures are refurbished to house a performing arts academy (music, dance and theatre), as well as sports and leisure uses, creating ties with the functions of the former constructions and settlements that are no longer standing.
The large linear volume of the main industrial building is transformed into a large space for restaurants that connects the Bassin and the Maas River promenade, establishing relationships in terms of scale and layout with the old Antonietenklooster church, now demolished, which was originally located in this corner of the enclosure of the walled city.
it is important to say that the large port cranes are maintained on the site as identifying elements of the place; their coexistence with the residential buildings is taken as a given, and a public viewpoint over the Maas River is built into one of the cranes.
Additionally, the residential section includes 120 dwellings and a residence hall for 80 students.
The programme is organized into three large build-ings, equal but different from one another, with a vernacular profile that gives the whole a local, domestic character. Located on the north side of the site, the three residential blocks respond to the urban limitations of the surroundings, generating an unmistakable image for the city's architecture, fluctuating between the domesticity of residential buildings and the contained monumentality of a recognizable profile within the horizontal panorama of Maastricht.
Finally, it is worth highlighting that the different elements of the new complex — the residential blocks and the rehabilitated industrial buildings - aim to create ties with the history of the city of Maastricht, acknowledging that it is the product of a system of continuities and discontinuities, in which the repetition of optimized systems contrasts with the specific conditions of each place.