Leietheater

Brielstraat, Deinze

The Leietheater ‘takes a step aside’. The building plays a key role in defining the public space and making the heritage of Deinze visible again. ATAMA V+ proposed an alternative site to the client during the competition phase. This move creates a large park that extends as far as the River Leie. In addition, the theatre was placed on important sight axes and was thus made present in the city. The Museum van Deinze en de Leiestreek, which had drifted into the open space of the old Leiearm, is framed and is once again the cultural heart of Deinze.

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The park was designed by Marie-Josée van Hee architecten and connects the theatre along the Administrative Centre, designed by Tony Fretton architects, with the centre square on the Leiebocht. This is also where the Stedelijke Academie appears, a place where young talent is trained and possibly finds their way back to the stage in the Leietheatre.

In a square floor plan, the programme components are arranged around a central foyer with a monumental skylight. The foyer can be expanded by sliding the partition wall with the multifunctional hall away. The museum is in the picture. With a café on the corner, the building activates the public domain in a place where otherwise, after the opening hours of the theatre, a pauze would arise in the urban dynamic. The large auditorium with its theatre tower gives the building a characteristic silhouette. The brick dress is made up of glazed and matt white stones in a pattern that is laid over the stack of volumes and, depending on the weather conditions, lights up softly or brightly. A silent gesture to Emiel Claus.

A step aside for the park

Transformative action +

A step aside for the park

Deus ex machina is an expression from classical theatre that literally means ‘god from a machine.’ In the days of the ancient Greeks and Romans, theatre writers introduced a god, or deus ex machina, whenever their story stalled. This narrative technique, like a bolt from the blue, could suddenly bring a story to its conclusion. Such a dramatic intervention could only be carried out by a divine or supernatural figure. This unexpected turn seems to have inspired the design of the Leietheater, or Cultural Centre, as it was initially called during the early stages of the architectural competition.

The temporary collaboration between ATAMA & V+ architects took an unexpected approach by boldly proposing an alternative location for the building and the car park. By planning the parking lot underground, they not only created more space for a park with trees but also reduced the impact of noise and vibrations within the building. The main reason for positioning the theatre next to the museum and opposite the administrative center was to strengthen the civitas, or the density of the urban core. In this way, the whole complex, functioning as a social condenser, would be more than just the sum of its parts. By situating the theatre next to the museum and around a park, the entire urban development plan of architects Marie-José van Hee and Robbrecht & Daem—a redevelopment of the market square and Leie riverbanks—received its grand finale.

In collaboration with

V+

Consultants

Ney & Partners, Studiebureau Boydens, Daidalos Peutz, Theateradvies

Location

Brielstraat, Deinze

Client

City of Deinze

Type

Competition, 1st prize

Program

Cultural Center, Theater Café, and Administration of the Cultural Department

Timing

2011-2019

Surface

3500 m2

Budget

€ 9.250.000 excl. VAT

Status

Completed

Photography

Stijn Bollaert

"ATAMA & V+ architecten ontpopten zich als renaissancearchitecten door, net als hun illustere voorgangers zoals Vredeman de Vries, van de stedelijke ruimte een scenografie te maken en technieken uit het theater te implementeren in de openbare ruimte. Bij de oude Grieken maakte het theater deel uit van de topografie van het landschap; de zitplaatsen werden uitgehouwen uit de stenen hellingen van de heuvels. In het alluviale Deinze kon die traditie niet worden voortgezet, maar twee kleine zalen die aansluiten op het foyer bieden een kamerbreed uitzicht op het park dat grenst aan het nabijgelegen museum. Dit samenspel van interieur en exterieur, waarbij het theater verbonden wordt met de buitenruimte, verknoopt het Leietheater met de oorsprong van het Griekse theater, waar het landschap het decor vormde voor het ‘spel’."

KOEN VAN SYNGHEL, BOEM PAUKESLAG!
The Leietheater, deus ex machina in the reborn city of Deinze.
As a Theatre, Borgerhoff & Lamberigts, 2019.