Cultural site De Woeker, Oudenaarde (B).
All-sided house between the city center and park.
As an architect, it's tempting to think in stone when the demand for housing is asked. But actually, we'll only see half of the work field. Architecture exists by virtue of the void in between. And vice versa. Interior and landscape are always in a mutual relationship.
This proposal - for the redevelopment and a new theater hall at the cultural site 'De Woeker' in the heart of Oudenaarde - consists of a playing field with extraordinary buildings. Our design proposal is characterized by interventions with an impact on the scale of the city, the neighborhood and the site. Together, these form a new and versatile environment for the cultural experience in Oudenaarde. Not one building, but a public cultural site. By introducing 4 public outdoor spaces - the reef, the pond forest, the middle garden and the event square - we are making a strong connection between the Oudenaarde market, De Woeker and the Liedtspark. Because the lane is also historically important for the relationship between the city center and the Liedtspark, we will lay the main access to De Woeker here. This also puts it nicely centrally between the various functions on the cultural site.
The central garden - together with the surrounding area - is the connecting heart between the various functions on the site. Its organization also makes it possible to use these for more intimate outdoor culture programs. The event square - also the space where the logistics for both halls takes place - is a multi-purpose outdoor cultural space. It can be programmed together with both rooms, or function autonomously. For example, the middle garden has a direct connection to the foyer and the bar and cloakroom.
The pond grove is a somewhat rougher, natural space (with water storage), an extension of the Liedtspark. It can be temporarily set up as a festival space and then function together with the event square. For both, large facade openings connect to the new hall. The new hall and accompanying program are housed in a subtly sculpted and materialized volume, with a multi-faceted architectural character. There are no backs. What's more: it's a new front to the Liedtspark.
The perimeter, which also includes the central foyer, connects all cultural spaces on the site. Monumental sliding windows mean that it can be a protected interior or an open perystilium. The dimensions allow it to be used as an exhibition space. The restaurant will be housed in the historic fire station. There, she can both operate the cultural site and connect to the city center. The mutual composition of the gardens and buildings provides a playing field with great flexibility in use, from one major cultural event to separate and parallel performances.
Images/videos are always set to 4 or 6 columns wide.
Within a 'Project', two additional sizes are used:
- Full-screen image (all columns)
- Carousel (8 columns)
A maximum of 2 images or videos can be on the same row, with at least 1 column of space between them.
'Panels' always accompany corresponding content and never stand alone.
Only one 'Panel' can be attached to each row.
The combination of halls, supporting functions and outdoor spaces allows for a very wide range of use, with numerous public events.
