The Marexhe pole, urbanization and a ghost station

Urbanization in Herstal

In front of the station, we see a recently developed square and new apartment buildings. The upgrading of the city center is a fairly recent phenomenon. Until then, efforts were focused on building new homes in the suburbs to attract more people to the city. However, in the last decade, there has been attention to the reconversion of the city center. Several neighborhoods or sites were designated as priority areas to be addressed, including the vicinity of the ‘market’ or the Place Jean Jaurès, the boulevards, and here, the previously quite dilapidated and broad railway neighborhood, namely the pôle Marexhe.

The concept of the pôle Marexhe

For the pôle Marexhe – which is larger than what we see here – the joint venture Arcadis Belgium, SUM Project, and ARJM was tasked in 2008 with the redevelopment. It was essential to integrate the station and its immediate surroundings into a beautiful livable urban area. This was done by creating a gently sloping square, erecting new residential blocks, building a new station, and creating a park along the railway.

The square in front of the station is called Place des Demoiselles. These young ladies were the motorcycles Sarolea, Gillet, FN, and Brondoit. Not far from here, we have the Sarolea museum. This square is actually the back of the old station. The original entrance was on the other side. The square here used to simply be a steep slope against the railway embankment.

The new ‘station’

What stands out here at first is the new ‘station’ or at least the building that was originally intended to function as a station. This is the result of the architectural firm ARJM. It was completed in 2015 and immediately won the Grand Prix d'Architecture de Wallonie for utility buildings. The ‘tower’ serves for pedestrian circulation and is a landmark in the square. Innovative was the use of self-compacting concrete, colored red with iron oxides.

Infrabel ultimately did not need the building and closed its ticket offices in 2013. The current station is now a PANG, which stands for: Point d’Arrêt Non Gardé. The city became the full owner. Recently, the theater company Arsenic2 took residence on the ground floor. Arsenic is a broader socio-cultural institution in Liège with quite a few educational activities at the level of the (local) community (e.g., against racism).

Street art

In the tunnel, we see street art by the Belgian-Congolese artist Novadead. His real name is Julien Crevaels. He illustrates in these tunnels a world where abstract forms and futuristic designs are combined in a whirlwind of techniques and colors.

Jan Rymenams