Young offender’s institution (IPPJ)

Programme

Redevelopment, renovation, construction and demolition of various buildings and landscaping.

The service contract programme, led by the Architecture Unit, sought to rethink the potential and uses of the existing buildings of the young offender’s institution (IPPJ) at Fraipont, to redefine their coherence while adapting them and bringing them up to standard. The project also covered the incorporation of the 12-hectare park at the top of the slope along the Vesdre. The existing buildings accommodate 78 young people and are mainly prefabricated RTG classrooms from the 1960s, grouped around the chateau. The architect, Daniel Delgoffe, was particularly attentive to the needs of the users and the operational requirements. The aim of all the reflections was to further the educational project and to do everything possible to provide the best conditions for the staff and young people. One of the first decisions was to recognize what already exists – such as the chateau and mature parkland – as common property. In the future, everyone (young people, staff and administration) will occupy the "chateau". The most attractive rooms will be used at the times that bring people together most often: meals. After a precise reading of the site’s features, the approach to landscaping tried to encourage its respectful inclusion in the territory: handling of open spaces, respect for the varied characteristics of natural spaces, digging of ditches and a planting programme. Users pass through a large central open space on a daily basis and the residential buildings are organized around it: common rooms face onto it while the bedrooms face out towards the undergrowth. According to Daniel Delgoffe, "The integration of a work of art must support common ambitions, rooted in the very raison d’être of the institution". Françoise Schein demonstrates this ability to work with fragile and precarious environments by using art. What she brings is, above all, collective work in which participation by the young people is a moment of expression and an inner journey. Executed in sandstone tiling, her work can be found in various strategic locations used daily by the young people.

Norbert Nelles