An architecture as heritage
SPARKOH! a place steeped in history
During the 1970s and 1980s, following the successive closures of coal mines, many old industrial sites became like cancers in a region struggling to recover.
Under the joint initiative of the Walloon Region and the European Union, the idea arose to transform the old mining site of Crachet-Picquery, in Frameries, in the Borinage, into a place for the dissemination and promotion of scientific, technical and industrial culture .
Following a European call for projects, Jean Nouvel, a French architect of world fame, was retained for the urban development, architecture and revalorization of the site with respect for the history of the place.
The result is a special/versatile place, a true bridge between the past, the present and the future.
The industrial architecture of the 1950s produced spectacular buildings, some of which, such as the Belvédère, the cable wheel and the engine room, have been classified as heritage since 1989. Jean Nouvel integrates them at the heart of a contemporary project that adopts the codes and materials of industrial constructions.
For the creation of the 210 meter long bridge, which connects to the different areas of SPARKOH! he is inspired by the operation of the old coal mine. The bridge is a symbolic link between the past and the present.
Architect Laurent Niget will then continue working on the construction program of SPARKOH!.