NU architectuuratelier was commissioned to redevelop the railway embankment in Borgerhout into a lively place for the area. AG Vespa is coordinating the redevelopment of the Centers in close collaboration with the owner, Infrabel, and with the residents of Borgerhout. The architects developed a simple system to transform the vaulted spaces under the railway arches into places where workshops, craft trades, catering services and other businesses could find a home. The new Centers give the street a fresh identity, charge up the public space and offer low-threshold premises for entrepreneurs from the area.

It is in 1899 that construction began on the Centers, a series of skilfully built arches in brick and bluestone decorated with multicoloured brick patterns, turrets and wrought-iron balustrades that support the raised railway embankment around Antwerp. Initially the city’s residents could walk under the railway arches, but the construction of an additional railway line on an earthen bank made it difficult to cross the Centers, which ultimately marked a boundary between the city centre and the surrounding area. For decades, the Centers were let by Infrabel to private citizens, but in recent years, they were gradually bricked up, and more and more of the arches became empty, as a result of which the infrastructure began to grow dilapidated. The urban development agency AG Vespa and Infrabel took the leap and went in search of a new purpose. On the one hand, the city authorities wanted to respond to the growing need for affordable spaces for alternative entrepreneurs in the city, and on the other hand, the aim was to make the public space in the area more attractive to residents and visitors.