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Pavilion of Urban Planning of the Expo '58, Kortrijk
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Since a few years it is the company ‘Van Marcke’ who owns this remarkable Pavilion of the World Expo of 1958. The building has reached a certain age … SumResearch analysed it and looked for possible re-use. Different questions on programming, restoration and context came forward.
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For the World Expo ’58 in Brussels, 28 pavilions were built using the truss technique developed by De Coene. At the end of the Expo, the Pavilion of Urban Planning was moved to Kortrijk. De Coene used the construction for a restaurant for its employees. Until today the building is still at its location on the “Pottelberg”, but the environmental context has completely changed over time. Originally, the pavilion had quite a visual impact from the street, but over time several industrial warehouses were built around and the visibility was reduced.
Today, the pavilion is in bad condition and a restoration or renovation of this listed building is obvious. What can be done with the pavilion in the future? What is the historical value of the pavilion? Which elements are valuable, which elements do we need to keep? Is the “Pottelberg” a suitable location of is a relocation better? A future vision for the pavilion is needed.
SumResearch studied the building in order to develop this vision for its future use. The following themes were developed:
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history of the construction of the building,
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survey plans,
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evaluation of the actual condition,
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vision for the future / re-use,
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estimation of the costs for the restoration of the building.
Client: Van Marcke NV
Team: SumResearch
6203 – 6224