Fine-tuning Research Infrastructural Needs into a substantive dossier for designers Open Call 0037.
Projectteam IEA + Antea Group

Based on the research carried out by IEA, the "Southern lock" is designated in agreement with the client, the City of Antwerp Department of Space and Urban Development, the City Architect and AG Vespa, as the most suitable and sustainable location for the future Flemish Contemporary Art Museum.
The historical "Southern sluice" site, where today the old Court of Appeal stands, falls within the perimeter of the current South district, defined as an artistic and cultural city area.
This choice can be understood as a further strengthening of the cultural core in the south of Antwerp in relation to the existing neighbouring museums and cultural houses such as "KMSKA" the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, "FoMu" the FotoMusuem, the Zuiderpershuis and the Zuiderkroon.
In 2018-2019, IEA continues the design research, the further definition of the building site and the fine-tuning of the functional program. It describes the preconditions and conditions at the regulatory level, the previous development on the site and its evolution, the historical heritage value and the character of the surrounding context. It outlines the potential possible interactions and relations between the construction in progress and the future development of the quay and park.
The "Southern sluice" site has historically always been a link between the old, now filled "Southern Docks" on the one hand and the Scheldt river with its quays on the other. The client places the assignment as a fully-fledged new urban project which, because of its significance, ambition and scale, determines the urban development context, on an equal footing with the surrounding major urban projects.
The design research for defining the functional program and its footprint was set up in a participative manner through multiple workshops and benchmark discussions with artists, local residents, museum directors, cultural programmers, internal employees, museum visitors, involved city services, the steering committee of the assignment and the city architects.