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The authorities opt for the station environment:
KBC building, Provinciehuis, VAC
The authorities in Leuven have set an example. The tunnel car park renovation of
the square, and the bus station with the offices for De Lijn are the first results of
this ambitious urban project. It is the starting phase of other large scale operations
located on a small strip parallel to the train tracks. The first such project was the
new building for the Province of Flemish Brabant, Provinciehuis, followed by the
KBC project, (fig. 8) in which the municipal administration of the city of Leuven will
be housed. The third phase has yet to be started: the building of the new Flemish
Administrative Centre (VAC-Vlaams Administratief Centrum). The Provinciehuis
and the VAC building are the two final poles of the project.
The young Province of Flemish Brabant, with Leuven at its centre, chose a site on
Tiensevest. In 1998 an international competition was launched. The Portuguese
architect Gonçalo Byrne working with the WIT group and engineer Dirk Jaspaert
were the voted winners.11 The volumetry is specified in the town plan and in the
zoning plan: a tower as a visual boundary on the southern side of the development
zone. The design presents a light composition, a vertical and a horizontal building
mass. The complex was opened in the spring of 2003.
The Flemish government took the important decision to locate the VAC building
near the station, similar to the situation in Hasselt. In 2002 a competition was
launched and in October 2002 the firm Zenghelis and Gigantes were chosen as
the winners.12 The northern side of this building also comprised a vertical tower
block forming a visual link to the Provinciehuis. The VAC building is to be built by a
private investor and the architects of Jaspers, Eyers & Partners are involved in the
design and construction of the project.
Philippe Samyn and Partners also entered the VAC competition. (fig. 9) The urban
planning boundary conditions were determined by the zoning plan drafted by
professor Marcel Smets. All designs were to present a building with a low base
and a tower construction set at the end; the zoning plan did not allow many options
or variations. Within these stringent outlines, Philippe Samyn opted for a wave-
shaped base, in response to the basic shape of the terrain. The arched shape
separates the building from the retaining wall on the side of the train tracks. A
section of the street side was reserved to accommodate a green area, a solution
which is also part of the winning project by Gigantes and Zanghelis. In this way, an
open public space is created in both of the longitudinal sides.13
It became obvious that important private companies wanted to follow the example
set by the authorities; the policy of the Flemish community was also encouraging
this evolution. Linking a new building directly to public transport provides the
answer to the problem of mobility. The decision by KBC for a new building project
conforms to this strategy. A long narrow piece of land situated between the station
and the new Province building was selected. The site was defined lengthwise by
the railway lines at a lower level and by the Tiensevest tunnel. On this narrow strip,
Project Team Stadsontwerp opted for a building consisting of independent blocks
with a total area of 24,000 m2, only one third of which, 8,000 m2, could be used
as office space since the zoning plan had planned for mixed use, commerce and
housing.