Page 52 - Studio Internatinal - October 1974

Dymphnarium at Mechelen, Belgium
Designed by: Krokus, workgroup for the
rehabilitation of the urban interior. (Jean-Paul
Laenen, Marcel Smets, Bob van Reeth)
This project grew as a reaction against the
demolition, by the local public authorities,
of what they considered a group of obsolete
homes.
As this demolition was mainly undertaken
in view of a design competition for the
sanitation of the surrounding district, it took
place without any idea of a determinate
future use of the vacant lot. In fact, it meant
disrupting the district's coherent structure
right in its centre, thus taking the risk of
accelerating the process of technical and
social deterioration.
With this danger in mind, it was suggested
that the demolition be handled in a way which
would preserve the urban-structural and
psychological values of this corner group of
houses. So a way of selective demolition
was proposed. The existing street community
would find a new space available in the created
collective precinct. The remaining
constructional elements would receive new
use and new sense and give new possibilities
for street-life. In spite of its obvious economy
seen in a larger sense, this proposal proved to
be incompatible with economies at first
sight resulting from demolition.
However this situation had made the
public authorities politically aware of the
fact that leaving the lot vacant for a number
of years might strengthen the residents'
grudges, especially since it had been
announced through newspaper articles and
conferences that the design competition was
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set up to improve their living conditions.
Therefore the idea of selective demolition
was adopted: since it was impossible to
demolish selectively, this obviously led to
building after selected demolition!
All building materials were somehow
recovered: the pavement and cobblestones
were found on a dumping-ground, the edging
stones came from the restoration of a
nearby church, the wooden elements were
made out of salvaged timber.
One of the trees dates from the original
garden. The other plantations were supplied
by the municipal gardening grounds. Even
the manual labour was in some way
'recovered', since the whole project was
completely carried out by appointed
municipal craftsmen. Due to this approach,
it became possible to furnish this socially
deprived district with a neighbourhood
precinct usually granted only to wealthy
shopping areas.
Without awaiting the outcome of the
design competition, an attempt was made
to improve the quality of life of the
surrounding homes by what seems to be the
most obvious way for public authority to
interfere, i.e. the reorganization of the public
area.
In this way the project aims at organizing
the communal territory as a form of
community living that offers more
possibilities than that available on the
classical street.
This led to realizing the importance to
street relations of the narrow pedestrian
passage way along the lot, of sun and wind at
certain hours, of heights, of window-sills to
sit upon or lean against, etc...
As an extension of the existing public life,
a number of opportunities were added:
possibilities for children to play, for eating,
reading, knitting or dancing in the open air,
for seeking shelter from rain and wind, for
enjoying and cultivating flowers and
greenery, etc...
Reflecting on the idea of how people
react to the univalent environment of planners,
the answer was formally suggested by a
complex structuring of the whole. This
implies that the offered opportunities can
be discovered and interpreted by each person
differently. More than an answer to a specific
problem, this 'Dymphnarium' (named after
'Dymphna', the one-time proprietor of a
small shop located there) wants to be a
continuous play-ground for life.
Considering the manner in which the
inhabitants react to it, it seems that
neighbourhood consciousness has been
intensified: not only did they take an active
part in the construction (painting and
varnishing, attending to the greenery, even
sketching frescoes on the surrounding wall);
they also organized an antique market and
open air festivities at the opening.