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PROJECT / C-MINE CENTRE, GENK, BELGIUM
RICH SEAMS
Painting With Light drew on lessons learned in theatre, live events and television to bring drama and a visual dynamism to a new technology and culture campus on the outskirts of Genk.
From 1914 until its closure in 1988, the Winterslag Mine on the outskirts of Genk in Belgium was at the heart of the local com- munity. Employing 6,350 full time staff at its peak, the mine has played a seminal role in the personal histories of many families in the area, as the draw for much immigra- tion to the region and a hub around which generations grew up. Now, thanks to a recent regeneration project, the site is set to recapture its role as a centre for both industry and the community, under its new guise, C-Mine: a new hub for creativity, technology, tourism and education. In addition to a new ‘C-Mine Experience’, which takes visitors on a tour of the old mine tunnels, the new centre incorporates two theatres, a multi-screen cinema, and a state-of-the-art Media, Arts and Design Faculty (MAD) for the nearby University of Hasselt.
The ‘Energy Building’, which once gener- ated power for the entire mine and all its operations, has become a multi-functional event and gallery space with many of its
original industrial elements – control panels, valve banks and turbine chambers - retained as period features.
On another part of the site, new commer- cial units have been built with the specific aim of drawing in creative and technol- ogy-focused companies, including a new Microsoft Innovation Centre. Structurally, the entire C-Mine site fuses industrial heritage dating back two centu- ries with complimentary modern design, including a dramatic scheme by creative lighting design practice Painting With Light under the leadership of Luc Peumans. Peumans, well known for his innovative work in theatre, live music and TV sectors, was asked by the city’s mayor to design lighting for the site. As a citizen of Genk, he was already familiar with the mine and its history, so jumped at the chance to work on the project. Peumans’ creative brief was completely open, allowing him the freedom to reinvent the once thriving commercial operation, giving it a new relevance and context. He
wanted the site to become a ‘living square’ while at the same time showing respect for its historic look and feel.
For the square to ‘come alive’, it needed to be a clear open space flexible enough to accommodate a variety of different events and activities, but one that would equally work as a relaxing public space, shared by the growing onsite community. Peumans adopted an ‘open-plan living’ approach, freeing up as much floor space as possible by moving the lights away from the centre of the square. This has the added advantage of shifting attention to the surrounding structures, in particular the colliery lift towers that form the centrepieces of the whole site. Once the core of the operation - used to winch workers, machinery and coal to and from the 100 kilometres of tunnels situated up to 850 metres below ground - they dominate the local landscape at 70 and 50 metres high respectively. In Peu- mans’ view these deserved extra attention, not just because of their imposing scale, but also because of their long-held status as
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