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Designing Welfare: a Study of Public and Collective Spaces (1958-1978).
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A multitude of new collective spaces, such as cultural centres, sport centres, holiday centres or leisure centres were built in Flanders during the two decades between 1958 (World Fair in Brussels) and 1978 (Year of the Village). The welfare state established itself not only in the realm of housing, but also in the realm of social amenities. Several publications deal with interesting aspects of this issue, but these new kinds of collective spaces have not yet been thoroughly investigated. What is lacking is a systematic study from a perspective that links spatial and social-historical analyses. Such a study could convey an understanding of how these collective amenities influenced the transformation of the public realm during this period.
Various aspects of these developments will be investigated; not only looking at the architectural and urban aspects, but also linking these to the socio-political dimensions. A range of questions come to the fore: On what sites were these new spaces and buildings built? How did they relate to villages, roads, towns or cities? How did they accommodate social ‘encounters’ (increasingly a buzz-word in the public discourse surrounding these amenities)? Were they indeed instrumental for the formation of a classless, pluralistic, democratic community? Were they used by the intended, mixed groups of users? Did they appeal equally to men and women?
How did the users experience these spaces and what meaning did they attach to them? How did the interactions between spaces and users contribute to a reconfiguration of the public realm?
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GOSSEYE JANINA
Faculty of Engineering
Doctoral Programme in Engineering
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Project number:
3E080566
Duration of the project:
02.10.2007 - 02.10.2011
Funded research
Nederlands
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