Stadshal en Centrumpleinen, Gent

Anyone walking in Ghent city centre in the late twentieth century, looking out over the roofs of all the parked cars, will have seen the residue of a fine historical city centre in its everyday guise, a city that had remained remarkably unsusceptible to the widespread process of gentrification. In 1996, in a late move towards adaptation, Ghent city council organised a competition. The intention was to sweep the car park on Emile Braunplein under the carpet and replace it with an underground car park. Above ground, a square would remain that could also be used as a place to spend time. Such a practical engineering idea was, at that precise moment, definitely an anachronism and because of civil opposition, it came to nothing.

Although that plan was discarded, one particular submission retained its relevance. This was the one by Robbrecht & Daem and Marie-José Van Hee. It barely stood a chance in 1996, largely due to recalcitrance. The architects’ proposal was not for a car park, but a Stadshal and park. After an incubation period of fifteen years, the plan finally corresponded to the centripetal administrative and civil forces and the building was commissioned, if somewhat late.

Author: Bernard Colenbrander. This text has been published in the Architecture Review Flanders N°11. Embedded Architecture.