An historic convent regains its ancient vocation as a public space for encounters
“Village Square Meer” is an initiative of a local collective of citizens to revitalise an historic convent, listed as national monument and landscape, in the centre of the rural village Meer. By means of architectural interventions, adaptive re-use, landscape design and cultural programming, Village Square Meer made these spaces again accessible to the public. For the first time, in its history the rural village receives a central public square founded upon an important historic urban landscape.
Regional
Belgium
Village Meer, part of the town of Hoogstraten (BE)
Region of Flanders, monuments and sites authorities
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
Yes
2022-09-30
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): KLOOSTER MEER Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Stijn Last name of representative: Cools Gender: Male Nationality: Belgium Function: architect Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Forelstraat 55b Town: Gent Postal code: 9000 Country: Belgium Direct Tel:+32496806982 E-mail:stijn@annoarchitecten.be Website:http://www.annoarchitecten.be
- Context. Meer is a small rural village of about 3000 inhabitants, situated at the border of Belgium and the Netherlands. The historic convent site is located in the village centre, only 100 meters far from the historic parish church. The origins of the cloister site are situated In the late 19 century, during the Belgian School Struggles. In 2003 the site was listed as national monument and landscape (including the imposing beech avenue and hedged lawns).
- A double jeopardy. Peculiar about the village is the fact is has no real public spaces like a market or a central square. The public space in this village used to be an widened road navigating between the old farm building. After the second world war car traffic took over this public space and the village lost its public market road. The convent site had always been significant to the villagers. People went to school in their own village, the parish hall served as a gathering place, and the outdoor space doubled as a park on weekends. When the village school and parish hall closed its doors in 2005. The village's last semi-public space was under threat. The convent was on the market. Private investors were invited to bid on the property. The site was under threat of privatisation.
- Citizens power. Following the initiative of only nine villagers a broad collective was forged, in which they involved local entrepreneurs, the regional social housing authorities, community welfare services, the monuments & site administration and an interdisciplinary design team of heritage architects (aNNo). The collective managed to acquire the site in 2005
- Social encounters: the heart of the site is transformed into the village's first public square in its history. Public functions are arranged around the square in the historic monument. In addition new social housing units within the perimeters of the historic area are constructed in order to strengthen the social cosmos of the site as a central space for the villagers.
Inclusiveness: citizen engagement, affordable social housing, sense of belonging
Social sustainability: new mirco-centrality for the rural village and cultural diversity, co-design, civil society
Aesthetics: combining sustainable new architecture in harmony with the historic site, the village architecture and the green landscape (poetic beauty)
Circularity: re-use of obsolete existing structures, circular renovation, preservation of landscape, urban desnification (versus sprawl), urban micro-centrality
Education: civic awareness and participative values (success story on having aspirations for the better)
The creative engagement of the villagers in the organisation and realisation (bottom-up) is admirable and makes evident the multiple values of the heritage sites to the sustainable economic and social development of rural villages. Innovative is also the way heritage preservation of the site demonstrates to be the powerful driver to contribute to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals within the local villages:
Number 1: no poverty. Parish hall as community centre serves also as an antenna to detect poverty amongst elderly of the village, and as such enable further supportive actions
Number 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages: parish hall repurposed as community centre
Number 8: decent work and economic growth: support of local economy. Coalition with local entrepreneurs and craftsman
Number 9: infrastructure: village square (historic urban landscape)
Number 10: reduce inequalities: Provide social housing
Number 11 Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable: historic site combined with social housing
Number 13: climate action: renovation of existing building stock (embodied energy) and densification in centre of rural village (vs. urban sprawl)
Number 15: life on land. Preservation of historic beech avenue, hedges and lime trees as important eco-system.
Number 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable: forge broad partnerships to realize a sustainable development within a rural village
Further, the project ensures a resilient and multifaceted strategy with regard to climate change (green areas reducc heat island effect, infiltration of rain waters, recuperation and re-use of rain water of the roofs, circular renovation of existing building stock, new constructions comply with EPBD directives, maximal re-use of materials on site (eliminating transport and new materials), insulation of historic buildings, ...)
The aesthetic values of the project are very high. The project has outlined and discussed on several websites in the past years. Further, newspapers and local broadcast stations extensively covered the over 15 years lengthy preservation process. Recently, an important Belgian urban planning body (https://atelierruimtekempen.be/project-in-de-kijker_kloostersite-meer) published the project as exemplary case-study on their websites.The project has been praised for its interdiscplinary co-design relating new architectural interventions to the history of the place and its architectural heritage.
The production of this new neighborhoods is historically grounded and thus contextual. As such the places feels familiar and resides in harmony with the green landscape. The project realizes a so-called locality, as defined by Arjen Appudurai in his book Modernity at Large. It forges a strong bound between an inclusive community and a high self-identification to specific local space. The locality is a solid basis for activism and social action. As such, the success story of re-use of the place is the succes of the locality. It has an enormous educational appeal and awards the villager’s creativity and imagination (self awareness, self esteem, proud). The crafting of the central square. Several design experts (architects, urban planners, historians, ...) teamed up with the villagers and administrative experts (permits, accesibility, heritage) to create and shape the village square in terms of form, use and appearence. By testing, discussing and presenting several proposals (models, plans, sketches, renders) to the village counsel the final square was co-designed. In these discussions also aesthetics (shape, size, slopes) and emotional wellbeing (protective character) of the furture square were investigated in concert with the historic urban landscape. The public delegation of the villagers to realize their dream ensures a durable and rooted commitment the affective values
The bottom-up initiative has an enormous social richness and inclusiveness in the way the process was organised (volunteers, communications by means of village counsel meetings, cultural events on the site,…). But also the realisation itself demonstrates outstanding social values. First, the former playground that is converted into a public square with a surrounding green park. And further the parish hall is transformed into a community centre for the villagers. During the day it welcomes the elderly of the villages for a coffee or a game of cards. Within the community centre the local library is organized, welcoming school kids or passer-by. In weekends the parish hall serves as gathering space for the rich community life of the village (organisation, hobby clubs, family gatherings, festivities…). The Bed and Breakfast also welcomes tourists to enjoy community life. The adjacent social housing, consisting of single family housing, welcomes families of different and varied social and cultural backgrounds to strengthen the social microcosmos and the active 24/7 use of the site.
Involvement of the whole community is ensured by envisioning the site as a public space (and not as a privatised or commodified monument). The public space are designed to ensure accessibility for all users (people with disabilities, elderly, young parents with stroller). The site is used for day-to day activities (like walking the dog) or organised festivities (Meer Market). The parish hall serves as community centre and library to ensure a mix of visitors (young and old). The public hall and café is organised on ground floor in order to ensure an approachable building. The social housing units in the hearth of the site strengthen and enrich the social microcomos (native, newcomers, different age-groups) of the surrounding residential neighbourhood.
As such the project is examplary in encouraging intergenerational solidarity and in improving our common spaces and places to meet.
The project is realized by the civil society (co-design) for the benefit of civil society (eg social housing on the site). As such the project is an important new and generative urban building block in the social organisation of the rural village.
First, the citizens benifit from the new infrastructure. In 2022 the project was completed and consists of
- 17 newly built houses in rental or long lease formulas
- a social service center with library, in cooperation with Social Services City Hoogstraten in the former parish hall
- a local bed&breakfast in the monastery building (to encourage tourism)
- a sewing workshop workshop space in East school building
- an office function in the West school building
- a mixed use (meeting spaces) in the in the former housekeeping school
Second, the open spaces of the site are transfered to the public domain, ensuring the public use of the site.
Third, an important green structure (lime trees, beech avenues, hedged lawns,...) remains accesible for a diverse public use (playground, walking the dog, encounters, festivities,....). Also during the corona pandemic, the outside spaces (the buildings were in renovation or construction) appeared to be a robust social meeting space, when at the same time other public and cultural buildings were closed down and inaccesible. The central sqaure appeared to be a crictical social device to ensure community care (communication, encounters)
Finally, the project adds a strong and fresh narrative to the collective memory of the citizens. The narrative changes the pereception from a small and sleepy agricultural (outdated) village to a inspiring social cosmos.
During the whole period the non-profit organization Convent Meer, together with 'Bouwmaatschappij De Noorderkempen', kept in close contact with the village via the organisation of village council meeting in which the plans, stages, difficulties and challenges were communicated and discussed. Further, during the period several cultural events and social activities were organised on site (village markets, festivities, gatherings, music festival…)
The realisation of the villagers dream has become a strong driver for the realization of sense of belonging across generations and cultures. (concept of locality, combination of place and self- identification).
The lack of funding for the non-profit organisation was a permanent struggle to realize the project. It required enormous voluntary efforts to keep up with the enormous challenges of the site and project during more than 15 years such as
- Managing the abandoned site against vandalism and theft
- Ensuring the coalition of partners
- Acquiring subsidies and funding by heritage authorities
- Following and enhancing the plans in close collaboration with aNNo architecten
- Building permits
- Communication to the village and ensure the participation
- Changing partners who were willing to invest in the site
- …
More than once the project was in jeopardy (difficulties with funding, permits, partnerships). It was by the determined belief and perseverance of the non-profit organization Convent Meer to realize this important community project, all these challenges were overcome. Albeit after many years of struggle.
As the project was initiated by a local initiative of citizens, the local and regional authorities supported the project at the start, without being fully immersed. It was only after some years the local government engaged itself to support and fund the social
The project combines several discipline and knowlegde fields, and as in the way the project developped during the past 15 years, it bridged silos and viewpoints.
- Historic preservation of historic urban landscapes : the historic monuments are repaired, preserved and repurpose
- Architecture: aesthetics, the new and the old
- Engineering: integrating technical standards, norms and legislative resuirements (fire, accesibility, stability, energy, ...)
- Local know-how: capacity building by generating community awareness and involment
- Craftmanship: reparing the buildings and constructing new dwellings
- Environmental preservation: the biological values of the site were preserved
- Climate sciences: the site contributes to the mitigation of climate impact
- Sociology: creating the conditions for a integenerational and inclusive community
- Educational: an important aspect of the project is its role in defining local identity and reinforcing a sense of belonging
- Culture: coalition of local organisations to organise events and keep the spirit of the place alive
The outcome or results on each criterion enforces the others, and as such a systemic change for the future village is materialised. The villagers and the design community worked and learned across disciplines. The result demonstrates a cross-fertilisation of ideas, knowledge, skills and methods.
First, the project is a powerful example of how our heritage reconnects us with our communities, helps create a sense of belonging and place, and is an integral building block in developing a local (circular) economy that supports a sustainable and inclusive way of life. The bottom up initiatives by volunteers ensures the protection of the cultural heritage values, and re-uses the site as a resource for sustainable socio-economic development. The site is revitalised as a public urban space, and integrates the site in the social and cultural life of the village.
Second, the process itself, which took 15 years has a value in itself. During that time a 'project' community (designers, architects, builders and craftspeople) was formed that worked cloesley with the villagers to generete the transformational outcome.
And off course, it is clear the project qualitatively improved social cohesion and participation of citizens in urban development and policy. The numerous cultural activities and social events on the site demonstrate the active engagement of the wider public.
As such, the project has a potential outreach, as exemplary case-study (outcome and process), to the wider European cultural and social communities (micro-centrality in small rural villages, organise community involvement, social diversity, and contribute to the SDG’s, combination of monument, landscape and new architecture, etc.). The results of the project exceed by far the technical exemplary preservation of the local cherished monument.
The project is realized by the civil society. The combination of cultural assets (heritage, local know how) and natural assets (landscape) as well as social assets (social economy enterprises, local organisations and associations etc.) make the place unique, and as such has a outreach to other similar sites in Europe.
Material care (for the environment) is combined with critical care for its people. The outcome of the project Klooster Meer can therefore be considered as “Scenographic Imaginaries” (see ongoing PhD Research Stijn Cools, Revalue. Heritage as performative and situative practice, KU Leuven, Belgium).
Imaginaries are socially transmitted representational assemblages that interact with people’s personal imaginings and are used as meaning-making and future world-shaping devices. Scenographic gives it a qualification as in spatial and temporal.
In this case the desire of the villagers to make this scenographic imaginary, the first public square of the village, presides the physical preservation. It is not an unaccounted outcome of the preservation. But it’s the reverse the preservation is the consequence of the scenographic imaginaries of the villagers for their future environment. The dream for a better inclusive and social environment, rooted in the long cultural history of the village.
From this perspective, the project demonstrates how communities energy can be a powerful leverage to contribute to current day societal challenges (critical care for our planet and its people).
The project methodology is co-design. During the whole period the non-profit organization Convent Meer kept in close contact with the villagers via the organisation of village council meeting in which the plans, stages, difficulties and challenges were communicated and discussed. Further, during the period several cultural events and social activities were organised on site (village markets, festivities, gatherings, music festival…) to ensure awareness and participation (cultural activities as method). This method relies on contributions of interested people, organisations, political institutions and companies during the process via events, conversations and workshops
The project started with the urban and preservation masterplan for the whole site and landscape. The masterplan concise ambition included first the historic buildings must be given a public or semi-public function that will have an added value for the inhabitants of Meer and the region: a meeting place for seniors, employment, meeting space for associations, function as an auditorium, residential tourism, etc. and second, to realize a public space for the village and third to strengthen the social cosmos by adding social housing on the site to generate a lively village quarter. The masterplan served as the methological and strategic document for the development for the various stages of the project, that took more than 15 years.
2005 – 2007 a dream and obtain the site
2008 - 2010 analysis and research: masterplan
2011 - 2013 coalition and capacity building (design by research)
2014 - 2018 permits and funding
2018 - 2022 realisation
- coalition artists, designers, architects and craftspeople
Successful small-scale projects show that transformative initiative are doable for everyone, everywhere
Transformational project (critical care for environment and its people) by means of bottom-up initiative and civic capacity building
