nelca, lendelede
The old Nelca factory in Lendelede, West Flanders, closed its doors leaving 10 hectares of unused land not far from the town centre, in an area of scattered housing and large open spaces.
The recovery of this site will involve demolishing almost all of the existing factory buildings and decontaminating the land. Planned construction includes a new business park to continue economic activity, a collection point for recyclable waste and a new residential fabric to extend the existing one. It also envisages the creation of a green structure to join up the various landscape elements and, to the west, the construction of a new approach road. This programme will be complemented by the rainwater collection pools needed to retain runoff and prevent flash flooding.
The business park is laid out along a line running perpendicular to Stationstraat that connects the large premises at the centre of the site and creates a car park for the only factory building to be maintained. The smaller premises are ranged along the new road to the west, which winds between the existing trees. A series of medium-sized premises is situated on the south side of the street.
A public space overlooking Stationstraat forms an approach, designed like a carpet, finished off with a linear stretch of water. This body of water acts as a retention pond and organizes the difference in level with the three buildings that house offices and professional studios, forming the façade of the business park. The housing programme is implanted to either side of this public carpet, modulating to ease the transition between the larger existing residential units to the west and the row housing that shapes Emiel Neirynckstraat, situated to the east.