The Municipality of Farciennes asked SBE to transform the grubby and unsafe underpass below the railway line into an attractive public space that not only connects the various parts of the municipality but also turns an otherwise socially uninteresting part of the public road into a place for people to come together.
The railway line running through Farciennes made for a hard, impassable gap in the village scene. In order to knock down this barrier, a design was introduced to serve as a link between the two separated areas and to link the surrounding streets together. In order for this project to succeed, it’s important that vulnerable road users feel at home here and can move naturally among the various elements and transitions. Indeed, it’s these people who will be central to the approach to this project.
As a genuine multi-tasker, the space regained will adopt several functions at the same time: platform, passage, terrace, common area, street, or footpath. This makes it necessary to develop a uniform whole that not only links the separate ‘sub-spaces’ together but also looks like a single entity. The latter will be achieved by making the right choices for the use of materials and a suitable design.
In collaboration with the municipality of Farciennes, SBE’s plan for the underpass below the track will restore the essence of the urban fabric, both visually and practically. With a design inspired by the municipality’s industrial past – the references to mining industry artefacts being the most notable details – the new Farciennes will remain true to itself.
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