Ateliers Centraux

Programme: Conversion of central workshops into a public space and creation of a relief parking lot in Ougrée

About: After implementing the Masterplan for the center of Seraing, the town of Ougrée-Bas is now the focus of an urban requalification policy. The reopening of the SNCB stop to passengers in 2018 is the first sign of this reconversion.
On a metropolitan scale, the revitalization of the Ateliers Centraux is strategic, with a 604-space park-and-ride facility directly linked to the train, the Trasenster park (future cultural hub) and the OM concert hall.
At district level, the pedestrian crossing from the Ougrée-Haut district to the Meuse will provide access to a succession of high-quality public spaces (covered market hall, Trasenster park, Meuse riverbanks).
The Ateliers Centraux building is not neutral: it's a heritage site, an urban landmark, an industrial cathedral. Crossing, stopping and parking in this space is not a trivial experience, but an emotional and spatial journey linked to the history of the site. The program proposed by the City will gradually be complemented by other types of functions, thanks to the surfaces left free for appropriation, thus activating the site and developing a real piece of the city, the new heart of a neighborhood in transformation, open to all and to all possibilities.
The Ateliers Centraux will be located to the south of the future Boulevard urbain, the backbone of the Sérénian renewal. They will be the first industrial building to be converted on this axis, right in the heart of the Ougrée-Bas district.