Twan Hermans

FŏVE / CHERISH
UNCOVERING THE ROMAN HISTORY AND REHABILITATING THERMAE SITE OF CORIOVALLUM

The city where I was born and raised, Heerlen, has a far-reaching history. The history of the city goes back to the Roman era 2000 years ago. In this day and age, it is important that we cherish (Fŏve) history. The settlement called Coriovallum (Roman Heerlen) was founded at the crossing of two important Roman roads, Via Trajana and Via Belgica. Over the years various remnants from the Roman era have been excavated in Heerlen. The most important is the ruin of a 2000-year-old Roman bathhouse, which is the oldest ancient stone building of the Netherlands to this day.

Traditionally, the Roman bathhouse provided a moment of tranquillity, but above all it was a place where culture and social activity flourished. Today unfortunately it is a place on the edge of the city centre where the traffic rushes by and the ruin is completely covered underneath the darkness of a metal cloak. My proposal is to redesign this unique place, to reintroduce a moment of tranquillity; and give back its past identity where culture and social activity once again play the leading role. A place that will be the starting point for the “Roman Quarter” of Heerlen.

Through architecture we are able to tell stories, in this case a story of history. My proposal will form a new place for Heerlen where a Roman narrative will be told. This Roman narrative is eager to reveal itself and contains an educational value on various different levels which can be experienced by anyone that visits or lives in the city of Heerlen. Various traces of the Roman past will be exposed to show the story and will play a crucial role in my proposal.

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