Slaughterhouse site Antwerp
The city has the ambition to redevelop the district consisting of Slachthuissite - Noordschippersdok - Lobroekdok in the Damwijk, in the north of the Antwerp district. The closure of Antwerp’s urban slaughterhouse has made the current destination of the surrounding area obsolete. The city has therefore drawn up a masterplan in conjunction with the private owners of the Slaughterhouse Site, Triple Living, which was approved in 2017. The aim is to realise an urban project with the main purpose of living, interwoven with services, recreation and business. During the participation project, interviews, sports and games activities for children, focus conversations and walks took place.
The transformation is a response to the need for urban densification, but this is only possible in combination with sufficient green public space and facilities. The vision for the design of the public domain is based on a thorough analysis of the requested programme of requirements. In addition to footpaths, roads and parking lots, this programme also includes a large sports and game programme and above-ground water buffering. For an attractive, cohesive and characterful public space, it is important to create a balance between the various programme components in our vision, with sufficient unprogrammed space available for flexible use.
The choices made for the sports and game programme and underground water management lead to maximally usable, maximally naturally green and maximally connected public space. The Kalverpad is extended into the park and connects to the Oude Kalverstraat. The rows of trees in the Oude Kalverstraat and the trees in the park are extended to Lobroekplein, which is therefore surrounded by trees. This creates a ‘neighbourhood square under the trees’, a green edge with terrace space and a large open square area for neighbourhood events.
Project website
