(17-03-2011) PROJECT UPDATE - Regina Mundi, Genk

17.03.2011 / HUB presents competition proposal.

Today, we present our competition proposal for the city of Genk and the Vlaams Bouwmeester. The brief asked for a masterplan in order to change a former school site into a vibrant part of the city center and into a connector between the city center and the surrounding landscape. In our proposal the site neither belongs to the center, nor is it part of the periphery. Instead, it creates a new space for Genk with its own distinct identity. It does so by crossing qualities of both – the topography, softness and ‘slowliness’ of the surrounding landscape; and the built form, rawness and speed of the city center – into a new breed. This new breed symbolizes the unique possibility for Genk - as a polynuclear network-city - to develop an urban structure that combines the ecological qualities of the countryside with the cultural, social and economical benefits of city-life.