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fallen, designed by architect De Bondt and the sculptor Wolfers. Much more than
the circumstances of the war itself, was the wave of “modernisation” in the first
half of the 50s which proved ruinous to the station building. Inside, the decorative
plastering disappeared and a mezzanine was created in the entrance hall. The once
stately station foyer was reduced to a minimal size. The roof of the platforms, 21
metres high, were demolished in 1952 and replaced by lower canopies for each
platform.
(fig. 2, 3)
In 1976 the ticket hall was refurbished once again.
A new interest in the station environment
Social developments often have a strong influence on the issues pertaining to urban
development. The construction of the railway network and the complementary
station buildings in the 19th century created the opportunity to realize urban
expansions in most cities, and in Leuven as well. The station became the throbbing
heart of the city, the centre of new mobility. After 1945, however, the station areas
increasingly lost their crucial place in the urban fabric.
At the end of the 20th century, stations and their surroundings were the focus of a
revived interest once more. Confronted with an important mobility issue and the
increased congestion of the road infrastructure, the promotion of rail travel has
increased in recent years. A growing awareness of mobility and environmental
issues has influenced the urban planning, especially research pertaining to the
future potential of station environments as important hubs on the dense network
of our railway infrastructure.
Instead of having large service industry companies settle along motorways and
in remote “green parks”, urban planners, and consequently the public authorities,
promote the concentrated development of the areas around stations. The station
environment is redefined within the urban fabric. The construction of the European
HST-network has further strengthened these developments throughout the
nineties.
At the end of the eighties the Belgian railway company realised they owned a vast
number of real estate assets with great potential which they wanted to develop
together with other partners. The largest Belgian project is the development of the
Brussels South Station. But in the last years station projects were also undertaken
in other cities such as Antwerpen, Luik, Leuven, Brugge, Hasselt, Gent, Roeselare,
Oostende and Sint-Niklaas. What could not even be hinted at or was deemed
unrealistic fifteen years ago is now considered opportune. Leuven is the city which
has pioneered the rehabilitation of the station environment in Flanders.
6
The Leuven station environment according to the urban plan of Prof. Marcel
Smets
The transformation of the area surrounding Leuven station is an excellent
example of a distinctive town planning approach.
7
At the end of the 80s “Project
Team Stadsontwerp” of the Catholic University of Leuven, under the direction of
Professor Marcel Smets, launched the development of an approach to elaborate
an innovative town planning strategy which he defined as “Stadsontwerp”.
8
According to Bruno De Meulder the urban project attempts to: “define itself as a
way of researching the city and intervening in the city which is broader and more
inclusive than architecture. In the urban project the architecture of the building
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