This project follows the work assigned to MA2 at the end of last century for the Gare Centrale. As a result of a competition organised by Beliris in 2008, Francis Metzger’s office is being assigned with the reconstruction of the hallway connecting the train station and the subway. This complementary work is an extension of the previous one, even though the hallway is posterior to the inauguration of the railway station. Maxime Brunfaut explained it to the architects as soon as they took over their study. To understand the shape and location of the station, they had called in the architect in charge of finishing the project. Maxime Brunfaut revealed that the triangular shape of the station had been designed by Adolphe Max, mayor at the time, who had planned to set up two boulevards and a railway station in the remaining space. This explanation which allowed MA2 to understand and to analyze Horta’s project is part of a global and current approach very different from the modernists’ way of working. In fact, Maxime Brunfaut was very surprised by the thirst for knowledge of today’s architects. « Why do you want to know all this ? », did he ask them, while explaining that in their shoes “he would have done what he thought right without searching all these pieces of information”. This remark shows well how much architecture has changed over the past years. Today, architects make a point of understanding the work.
- Typology
- Transport
- Status
- Construit
