Experience

ANTWERP | Community centre coStA to become ANDRS in 2027 after major revamp

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For 30 years the cultural meeting centre of Sint-Andries (St. Andrew), coStA, at Sint-Andriesplaats in Antwerp, has served as the beating heart of the neighborhood, where various cultural, sporting and youth organizations have had their home. However, the center’s buildings are outdated, so a thorough renovation is underway. On the last day of the anniversary festivities, the city unveiled the new name: ANDRS. 

CoStA will close its doors at the end of this summer, so Antwerp Pride seems safe for now. Antwerp Pride has used coStA as a base for its ‘Pride in Town‘ activities geared at people who want less revelry and bustle. 

After the shutdown will be followed by preparatory works, after which, if everything goes according to plan, the renovation will start in the second half of 2025. 

A renovated site will then be built, as an open learning environment and creative presentation space for children, young people, recreational artists and local residents, where maximum emphasis will be placed on collaboration and shared use of space. 

The cultural activities will temporarily move to Het Stadsmagazijn, The City Wharehouse. Almost all associations have now also found interim accommodation. 

Andries & Anders

Of course, Sint-Andries can still be recognized in the new name ANDRS, as the baseline, ‘Andries. Anders‘ (‘Andries. Different‘). 

But above all, he summarizes very well what activities will take place in the meeting center. The way in which urban services, associations, users and local residents collaborate and come into contact with each other is innovative. The nine organizations present work together on the site based on their own identity and have a shared responsibility.  

It will be an accessible center for the neighborhood, accessible and urban at the same time, where various partners come together: city services, associations and local residents. Including work, reading and seating areas, a foyer, studios, and a rehearsal room.  

The inner agora, together with the outer agora, will form the heart of the site. From there, users start their visit. The inner agora is a large, open, multifunctional meeting space that represents the various operations and welcomes their users. It is a crossroads for information, inspiration, technology, services and meetings.

Alderman for Culture Nabilla Ait Daoud (N-VA): “coStA has been a fixture in the neighborhood for thirty years, but the place is now getting the green, sustainable renovation that Sint-Andries deserves. It will become ANDRS, but at the same time it will remain a warm home for the entire community. Many neighborhood initiatives and local associations will find their place there, as will arts organizations and artists.”

Councilor for Youth Jinnih Beels (Vooruit): “With the new name ‘ANDRS’ we bring a fresh, innovative wind to the heart of Sint-Andries. This place will be a dynamic meeting space where youth, culture and sports come together, and where collaboration and shared use of space are central. We look forward to a renovated center that offers an accessible and inspiring home for all local residents.”

coStA.

History and current operation 

In 1994, the then ‘district cultural center’ started at Sint-Andriesplaats, centrally located between Nationalestraat and Kloosterstraat. A small-scale cultural center with a project approach that focused on the neighborhood.  

CoStA has now been a fixture in the neighborhood for 30 years, as a meeting center for culture, sports and youth for the entire neighborhood. In addition, many neighborhood initiatives and local associations have their place there, as do artists and arts organizations.  

Future operation

ANDRS consists of a series of important operations, which always start from the needs of the (potential) users. This always involves cultural encounters and connections between local residents and organizations. 

  • An integrated urban operation, with the cultural meeting center, the library, the web point, neighborhood secretariat, sports creation and leisure mediation. It offers space for amateur arts, cultural encounters and literacy in the broadest sense of the word. 
  • The site is an important ‘home’ for many partners such as Fameus vzw, associations and youth associations: Betonne Jeugd, Scouts 9 and 10 Sint-Lievens-Sint Andries, and the Creative Club for Young People. It is also the space where they can set up collaborations with each other. 
  • A leisure program is being set up, which is shaped for and by the neighborhood, in co-creation.
  • The site contains spaces for creativity and room rental, and thus meets the needs that exist in the neighborhood.   

Renovation 

The 3,150 m² site will undergo a major transformation in the coming years. The valuable buildings will be thoroughly renovated, some new construction will be built, and part of the paving will make way for more greenery. All information about the renovation can be found in an earlier press release about the competition design.

Over the past year, the design agency worked on developing the competition design. The plans were regularly fed back to key users of the site, and their feedback was incorporated. For example, strong efforts will be made to soften and green the inner area.  

If everything goes according to plan, work can start in the second half of 2025. 

However, coStA’s doors will close after the summer of 2024, and afterwards the buildings will be further emptied. This is because a number of works must be carried out on the site at the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025, such as a structural investigation to further investigate the condition of the old historic buildings, an archaeological investigation into the subsurface, and work to remove the existing asbestos. 

Chairman of AG Vespa, Annick De Ridder (N-VA): “The Sint-Andries site, home of the coStA meeting center, is heading for a bright, future-oriented sustainable future. We will use maximum depaving here and create much more publicly accessible greenery.” 

“Valuable buildings will receive a sustainable renovation and there will be a sustainable new construction. In short, this is a transformation of slightly historic proportions for a historic district. With this project we can turn this site into a fantastic neighborhood spot again after the summer and also begin archaeological research.”

Temporary move

The cultural activities will temporarily move to Het Stadsmagazijn in the Keistraat. From there, the center will remain present in the neighborhood, including by organizing events on squares in collaboration with partners, associations and the neighborhood.   

In the meantime, almost all associations have found temporary housing, thanks to residents’ groups that helped in the search for suitable infrastructure. Solutions are in the making for organizations that do not yet have temporary accommodation.   

To remain present in the neighborhood, there will be an antenna point in the Sint-Andries Library one or more days a week where residents can go with all their questions and meet each other. 

Questions about the master plan for the site, the program and tickets, but also about small administrative matters such as the A-card, sorting streets, etc. 

Furthermore, possibilities are being explored for temporary meeting places within the Sint-Andries district, by collaborating with existing neighborhood initiatives and neighborhood coaches. The latter will also continue to support residents’ initiatives. 

This project is being realized with the support of the Flemish Government.

On the look of Antwerp

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