Céramique: the public space

Art historian, Sir Ernst Gombrich, says that we view art through our accumulated experience of it. When we look upon a work of art for the first time, we view it through our preconceptions. How do we see Céramique, a whole new district which has risen like the Phoenix from the ashes of a 'potters' field' in this decade?

This is no Manhattan on the Meuse; it is broad bosomed and does not reach for the sky. It might usefully be thought of as Yin to complement the old city's Yang, providing a yielding pocket for the phallic thrust from the downtown spires. The Libertel buildings seem to echo Aztec pyramids; the Bonnefanten museum a temple at Karnak from the front and the space shuttle on the river side. But there are the squares and enclosures too, which give the perspective of a board game, of enclosed space.

The focus
The space is partly enclosed, but always open from some vantage point. There is the square, that is not a square but a wedge, two-thirds the size of the Vrijthof. It runs from the new public library and media center, past the Bordenhal with its new theater down to the banks of the Meuse. Céramique re-emphasizes the role of the river in the town. Close to the new square, a passerelle or footbridge, will be built across the river bringing people to the city's new cultural center.

The bridge, the river side park and irregular square will in turn lead from the old town to the public library, a home to the municipal archives with space for exhibitions. The European Journalism Center will be on its roof. Facets at Céramique's focal point will include an auditorium/hall and a grand-café in addition to the actual library. On the first floor, there will be a permanent exhibition of porcelain reminding the visitor of the origins of the site.

The perspective, be it financial or architectural, is very impressive. Whether geomancy, the venerable science of feng-shui, has played a role in the design is not entirely clear. But you do enter Céramique on an avenue lined with the trees of heaven (NLG 2000 each) and the water runs closely by. Although there are some sharp corners no doubt, and light that passes directly through buildings, there are also edifices which curve sinuously, like the Fortezza designed by thegreat Swiss architect Mario Botta.

Over all there is the influence of the master builder, Professor Joe Coenen. He has guided the master plan through from its inception and will certainly be there when the final curtain rises in the year 2003. The library is his personal crowning touch. The new library and hall, which represents an investment of NLG 50 million, rises to 35 meters and will have underground parking space for 400 cars. It is expected to deal with 3000 visitors a day.

The indispensable foundation
The figures relating to Céramique tell their own story. The total investment is in the region of NLG 800 million. The program includes 1600 homes in the private sector, premium category purchase and rental and 70,000m² of office space. There is a further 20,000m² of hotel accommodation (more than 200 hotel rooms), 20,000 m² for cultural or other non-commercial purposes; 5000m² for the catering and retail sectors and 4400 m² for indoor parking facilities for a total of 2000 vehicles.

A project of this size and magnificence can not be undertaken without the existence of a very sound financial base. The project was not given over to ordinary developers, but a partner, able to view the development in the long-term, was sought.

ABP, one of the world's major pension funds, took up the challenge as an investor. In July 1987, they were able to report to the Mayor and city council of Maastricht that their view, in respect of the destination, function, content and phasing of the development, was wholly in accord with that of the city development department.

They were impressed by the considerable added value that the development would give to Maastricht and by the opportunity provided, to link downtown Maastricht with Randwyck. They were prepared from the very beginning to participate in the project, to ensure its funding and finally to fulfill the role of an investor, either for the whole project or for parts of it.

The man responsible for guiding the project through its long period of gestation, now just more than a decade, has been Huub Smeets, Maastricht's Director of City Development, who heads the staff of 200 responsible for the development of this historic heart of Europe. Mr Smeets, a lawyer by training, who specialized in Urban Planning law under the celebrated Professor Crince le Roy, also took the history of architecture as a subsidiary subject at the great Art History Institute at the University of Utrecht.

Huub Smeets is clearly a man with a mission. He has become one with this great project. With project manager Jo Notten of the city development department and master builder, Professor Coenen, he has carefully guided the project which is now within sight of completion. There have been ups and downs along the way. At first it was thought that the cost of removing subsoil polluted by the ceramics manufacturing processes would be insuperable. However, perseverance and the aid of an institutional investor able to think in terms of a 20 year investment period provided the guarantee required.

While money is of course necessary and expertise must be available, the indispensable foundation is the political will to carry the project forward. Now, for more than a decade, this will has been made manifest. Zoning, planning, and political ideals have produced a remarkable synergy.

A unified front
Alderman Dr.Wim Kuiper is the member of Maastricht city council holding the portfolios of city development, education, and media. From his palatial suite at Maastricht's 17th century city hall, he surveys a changing scene. The charm of the old city is being preserved but opportunities for growth within this compact territory, almost a city state, are carefully fostered.

Such projects are never really a tabula rasa. The accretions of the past are there and are incorporated when they can be. The Bordenhal, now to be the theater, recalls the industry of the past: the city wall a more distant past, when Maastricht was the fortress at the crossing of the Meuse. Wim Kuiper understands the importance of reflecting the past in the present, to provide Maastricht with a superior vantage-point for the 21st century.

Interestingly enough, Dr.Kuipers' own discipline is enabling him to unite town and gown. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and taught for many years at Maastricht University's Law School, having as his special topic, local and national politics in Limburg.

This background puts him in touch with currents in public thinking, whereas the constraints of public office provide a means of channeling that thinking; the result is motivated support for the new development and a very clear focus on the role of public space in Céramique.

LIM December/January 1999
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Charlemagne Prize

On Ascension Day, the 13th day of May 1999, in the Coronation Chamber of the City Hall of the former imperial palace, Aachen's international Charlemagne Prize will be awarded to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Anthony Charles Lynton Blair, in appreciation of his personal commitment to peace in Northern Ireland and his new approach to the European Union on behalf of Great Britain.

The Charlemagne Prize has a very distinguished history, though it does not go back to the times of the great emperor of the Franks himself. Incidentally, the millenium will mark the 1200th anniversary of the coronation of Charlemagne in the year 800 by Pope Leo III in Rome.

Today's Charlemagne Prize goes back to the immediate post-war period in 1949. It was awarded for the first time in 1950. Among those honored were Konrad Adenauer, the post-war Chancellor, Sir Winston Churchill, George C.Marshall, father of the Marshall Plan for post-war European reconstruction, Sir Edward Heath, King Juan Carlos of Spain, Henry Kissinger, François Mitterand, former Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Václav Havel and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

Dr. Kurt Pfeiffer
The idea of the prize was born in the mind of an Aachen businessman, Dr. Kurt Pfeiffer. He introduced the idea of an Aachen International Charlemagne Prize to the members of a literary circle known as Corona Legentium Aquensis (i.e. the Aachen Reading Circle). The prize was to be awarded annually for the most valuable contribution to European unification and solidarity in the service of humanity and world peace.

The Charlemagne Prize was also intended to be a summons, drawing attention to the problem of European understanding. Those distinguished by receiving it, should, in the terms of the proclamation of Christmas 1949, be exemplary figures worthy of emulation. The prize is also, of course, an act of homage to the father of Europe, Charlemagne.

The choice of Aachen as the venue for the award ceremony derives from the great emperor's choice of the city of his favorite palace. Charlemagne, too, initiated the Carolingian Renaissance and brought scholars from England, Ireland, Spain, Lombardy and Italy together at his court to create a center for cultural policy. Cathedral and monastery schools were set up, scholarship was encouraged and the literary traditions of classical antiquity and the Church fathers were continued.

From 936 until 1560, Aachen was the Coronation City of German Kings and Queens. Later, it became the site of important peace treaties and conferences. Incidentally, Aachen is also the place where Julius Reuter set up his pigeon post via Brussels in 1850, leading to today's Reuters Press Agency.

The Charlemagne Prize Society, responsible for the selection of candidates is independent and takes its decisions behind closed doors. The directors comprise those who were born in the city and those who were elected there. The Mayor of the city, the representative of the Catholic Church, in the first place, the Bishop of Aachen and then the Cathedral Provost as guardian of the tomb of Charlemagne, and the Rector or Principal of the university are included. The remaining eight members for life are citizens of Aachen and since 1974, there has been a member from the city council.

The sum of DEM 5,000, a certificate and a medallion accompany the prize. On one side of the medallion, there is an impression of the oldest known seal of the city of Aachen, dating from the 12th century, depicting Charlemagne upon his throne. On the reverse side, the name of the current holder is inscribed.

Tony Blair
The Charlemagne Prize committee has this year selected Mr Blair. They have described him as an outstanding politician who has understood the importance of the process of European unification for the future of the continent. They further added that he has brought the United Kingdom once more closer to Europe and wishes to play an active and constructive role in the future and development of the process of European integration within the framework of the European Union.

Mr Blair has, as a result of his personal commitment, made a decisive contribution to the peace process in Northern Ireland and consequently, to peace in Europe. In the words of the committee, the position of the United Kingdom has, since the change of government in 1997, taken on a new dynamism. Tony Blair is the embodiment of a new and decided move towards Europe.

LIM April/May 1999
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