Nicolas Clarys

Cheratte cultural and citizens centre

The project is part of the opening up of the Cheratte neighbourhood, a former coal mining place next to Liège. Today there isn’t any innovative project for the city and its inhabitants. The aim is to make this “insular” territory a strong part of the development of the Liège area and especially a new residential area related to the river landscape, which is the main characteristic of Liège and its living neighbourhoods.

The project takes place in front of the former Cheratte colliery, where the bridge was set, which led raw materials to the sorting and washing processes. It links the colliery and the garden city, following the natural water flow direction. It defines a new square which becomes the new town centre. This square is delineated by a new nursery and primary school, the former colliery and a skate park along the railway.

The project programme is based on an inside square including a former coal chute which serves as vertical opening for the building. The library, the game library, the media library, the assembly hall, the workshops and the cafeteria are sociocultural spaces. They emphasize the need to create new links with people but also with the colliery architecture and the economy. The documentation centre is directly linked to the training centre thanks to a footbridge and has a more regional dimension. This programme is complemented by the specialisation infrastructures of the training centre set in the former colliery. The strengths of the architecture are communication, social opening, historical memory and techno-cultural revival.

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