SINT-AUDOMARUSKERK

SINT-AUDOMARUSKERK BISSEGEM (English below)

Als je iemand vraagt waar Bissegem ligt dan zegt men meestal: Ergens op een kruispunt tussen Wevelgem, Heule, Gullegem, Marke en Kortrijk. Het is een heel dynamische plek op vlak van mobiliteit. Met veel auto’s én vliegtuigen.

Maar het verhaal van de plaats in Bissegem kan net zo goed beginnen met een dorpse conditie in de nabijheid van de Leie. Een dorp op een boogscheut van de stad met talrijke wegels en buurtwegen voor fietsers en voetgangers langsheen een groen lint van beekvalleien. Het is een plek die er wil zijn en aansluit bij zowel de leefwereld van de historische dorp waar zachte weggebruikers centraal staan, als bij de leefwereld van de periferie van de stad met de nabijgelegen moderne verkavelingen met autowegen en parking (thv de rietput).

Door zijn ligging nestelt deze plek zich in de wereld van de dagelijkse passant met de auto of met de fiets, maar de plek heeft ook voeling met de leefwereld van de buurtbewonder door diverse winkels en diensten, bv: een bakker, horeca, supermarkt, apotheek. Door de nabije ligging van de school ‘De Tandem’ bekleedt deze plaats ook een promenente plek in de wereld van de (jonge) ouders en de plaatselijke jeugd.

Deze plek heeft samen met het nieuwe programma alle troeven in handen om een volwaardige ‘derde plek’ te worden en is een plek die zich inschrijft een reeks van andere (potentiele) derde plekken, zoals het OC Troubadour, De Rietput en de seniorenclub.

Een plek waar men naast het wonen en werken graag vertoeft en blijft hangen. Een thuis buiten huis waar er ruimte is voor ontmoeten en waar kinderen kunnen spelen…

SINT-AUDOMARUSKERK BISSEGEM

If you ask someone where Bissegem is located, they usually say, Somewhere at a crossroads between Wevelgem, Heule, Gullegem, Marke and Kortrijk. It is a very dynamic place in terms of mobility. With lots of cars and planes.
But the story of the place in Bissegem might as well begin with a village-like condition in the vicinity of the Lys a village a stone’s throw from the city with numerous roads and neighborhood roads for cyclists and pedestrians along a green ribbon of stream valleys. It is a place that wants to be there and connects both to the environment of the historic village where cycling and walking are central, and to the environment of the periphery of the city with the nearby modern parcels of land with highways and parking (in front of the cane pit).
Because of its location, this place nestles itself in the world of the daily passer-by by car or bicycle, but the place is also in touch with the living world of the neighborhood residents through various stores and services, e.g.: a bakery, catering, supermarket, pharmacy. Due to the nearby location of the school ‘De Tandem’, this place also holds a promenent place in the world of (young) parents and local youth.
This place together with the new program has all the assets to become a full-fledged ‘third place’ and is a place that subscribes to a series of other (potential) third places, such as the OC Troubadour, De Rietput and the senior club.

A place where people like to stay and linger in addition to living and working. A home away from home where there is room to meet and where children can play…The square in front of the Bissegem church has undergone some drastic metamorphoses over the past 100 years as a result of King Car. While the war memorial still had a prominent meaningful place a century ago, an overabundance of sculptures has created an imbalance. The village lime(s) and symbolic yews are present in the square to this day but have lost their way, so to speak … just as the church no longer finds its place in the square.

Monuments and church buildings specifically have always been under violent changes. They have been rebuilt and expanded for the sake of demographic growth and thus more believers. At the same time, church buildings are also not free from fads and over the centuries, decoration and ornamentation have been modified.

St. Augustine’s Church itself is a neo-Gothic total work with very few interior and exterior modifications. Under the carpet inside there is still an original cement tile in a labyrinth pattern. The furnishings (high and side altars, the baptismal font, Stations of the Cross, confessionals and organ) are valuable and a must preserve. The stained glass in the choir and side chapels are neo-Gothic gems and are already museum-ready with front glazing. On the exterior, the largest alterations are located in the roods between the choir and transepts.

This church was designed as an archetype of a Gothic church by the Grand Master of Neo-Gothic De B¨¦thune. The facade is a severe flat grand façade without any ornamentation, sculpturalism or depth. The nave and side aisles are conceived as the great hall to accommodate the large group of worshippers but contains particularly little decoration, even the simple pointed (two-part) stained glass windows with geometric patterns are particularly contrasting with the typical craftsmanship of carving, polychromy and stained glass in the choir and chapels. Underneath the evenly painted walls of the choir, transept and side aisles is most likely motif painting. In valuing the whole and its elements, we see the greatest quality from the transept to the choir. The existing side aisles are perhaps the least valuable aesthetically and in a less building pathological condition (poor condition of the stained glass and asbestos slates on the roofs).

Immediately the question also arises of how to combine the closed character of the church with the new ancillary program.