St
Lambert Square :
Revival of a neighbourhood
1. St Lambert Square was demolished in the
seventies to improve traffic and remained therefore a no man's land for 20 years.
Today the square is reviving : a huge urban town project has changed it into a
welcoming, lively, multifunctional centre.
2.
This project aims at :
Reviving St Michel block, a historical centre in Liège.
Creating a welcoming place including a shopping centre, services, offices,
houses and flats.
Connecting the surrounding neighbourhoods to the block, with a large space
for pedestrians.
Giving a quality architectural style to the square, like in the past.
3.
Some figures
4 buildings inter-connected by 3 footbridges.
Lodgings : 61 flats, 21 houses.
Offices and services : 8,000 m2 and 250 possible jobs there.
15 places where it's possible to have something to eat, to find somewhere
to stay for the night.
Terraces and green spaces : 1,500 m2.
Car park : for 1,000 vehicles.
4.
People who took part to the project
Claude STREBELLE : the architect co-ordinating the works. After studying in
Brussels and Paris, he went to live in Africa where he was contacted by DUBUISSON,
a Belgian university rector who asked him to direct the project about a new university
site situated in the woods in Sart Tilman. Some time later, the town also asked
him to coordinate this project. He is therefore considered as a privileged free-lance
architect for the town.
Other architects working on the project :
.Mr
Bernard Herbecq : St Michel building
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| |
.Mr
Linh Quang Tua (helped by Mrs Poussart) : opera building
|
Mr François Lemaire
and Mr Philippe Gérard : St Lambert building
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Mr Caumion : footbridges
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| .Mr
Boden : a room for shows |
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The building started
in November 1997 and the site was opened to the public in 1999, September 1.
5.
The conception of the buildings
The cultural, historical and esthetic size is really so important that the
collaboration of the Walloon Region and the " Royal Committee for Monuments,
Sites and Excavations was essential and precious to integrate the square in the
town centre in a harmonious way.
Moreover the architects working with C. STREBELLE come from Liège :
they all have a different sensitivity but succeeded in creating together a harmonious
work.
Because
of the natural surroundings shops and offices (more dynamic) are the ground floor
whereas the houses and flats (more intimate) are on the higher floors
The materials are in harmony with the other buildings (natural stone or slate,
bricks, zinc or colorful coatings and the green spaces make the viewers think
of the old hills which surrounded the town in the past.
Pedestrians have the priority too : thanks to the footbridges they can go
from one place to another and have a wonderful view on old buildings
6.
An archeoforum - partly open to the public - shows a great collection
of local remains. The surroundings (bus, shops, streets for pedestrians, streets
for cars) are going to be set up.
7.
The project for St Lambert square is only a part of a larger one that aims at
improving and bringing dynamism into the city centre : building of a new railway
station " Les Guillemins ", high-speed train, booming in the local airport
in Bierset, improvement of the motorways, restoration of many neighbourhoods.
Click
on the picture to enlarge some parts
