Luchtbal: the harbour suburb of Antwerp

Prior to 1927 the area of Luchtbal was part of the village of Ekeren. The southern section of what is now Luchtbal belonged to Merksem. The brook called Vosscheschijn formed the border between the two. In medieval times this was an important border as it was also the border between the bishopric of Liège (Luik)  and the bishopric of Cambrai (Kamerijk). The area was named after a public house next to the bridge on the Ekersesteenweg that crossed the Vosseschijn that was renamed Luchtbal (literally: Sky Ball, an old name for Hot Air Balloon in Dutch) after one had landed nearby in 1907. Shortly after a tram halt near the café was also named Luchtbal, establishing the popular name for the area.

The polders between the Scheldt and Ekeren had remained agricultural until the railway Antwerp-Rotterdam was built in 1852. This was followed in 1870 by the building of the straight Noorderlaan to replace the winding historic Ekerseweg. Due to the proximity of the expanding Port of Antwerp, a new village grew along the new road from 1871 onwards in what was at the time known as the Merksemse polder. The population grew rapidly after a steam tram was built along the Noorderlaan in 1887. In 1914 parts of Ekeren and Merksem were annexed by Antwerp to excavate new docks.

On the site of the former English Army Camp, between the Third Albert Dock and the railway line, a new garden village was planned from 1924 onwards. The first phase of this so-called Tuinwijk Luchtbal was completed between 1925 and 1929. To commemorate the former army camp all the streets in this new garden village were named after British and American cities. The garden village was developed by the Maatschappij voor Goedkope Huisvesting (Society for Affordable Housing) in several types along often curved streets. Corner plots were designated for corner shops. Next to the garden village an new church (Our Lady Annunciation 1927) and a free school for boys and girls (Vrije jongens- en meisjesschool 1930) were built. This harbour suburb was situated halfway between Ekeren and Merksem next to the Port of Antwerp but at some distance from the city itself. Allotments were not part of the scheme, as is so often the case in Belgium. There were however playing fields for football provided along the Noorderlaan. During the 1930s a secondary school (Stedelijke Scholengroep 1938) was built. At that time a large apartment complex inspired by Austrian examples was built near the Second Albert Dock further south. This Canadablock (1938-'39) was developed by S. V. Onze Woning (Social Housing Collective Our House).

The large area of Luchtbal comprises of a northern and southern section. Each can be subdivided in neighbourhoods with their own character and architecture. Luchtbal, before redevelopment, consisted of a garden village in the northern section with a church (+), free school (F), secondary school (S), playing fields (pf) and a park (P). After WW2 the so-called Darsen-blocks (D) were added in the undeveloped parts of the garden village. The southern section also dates from after WW2, except for the Canada-blocks (C) right at the heart of this area. Next to these apartment blocks a small shopping centre was built (sc) with a new church and activity centre to the north (A). Directly nect to the garden village 6 tower blocks were erected (T) together with a traditionalist catholic school called the Annunciation Institute (M - Maria Boodschap Instituut).  On the southern edge the 4 long blocks (L) were built. Around a large athletics track a sports hall (sh), theatre (th), secondary school (ss) and primary school (ps) were built. The open space is mirrored on the northside of the Canada-blocks by a large garden square (sq).

After WW2 the war damage had to be repaired. After these works had mostly finished the Antwerp city council started a program of providing new and better housing in areas that had remained undeveloped within the city limits. One such area was Luchtbal where from the 1950s onwards two housing associations -S.V. Onze Woning in the southern part and S.M. Huisvesting (Social Society for Housing) in the northern part- were active in building large amounts of social housing between the Noorderlaan and the railway. In line with then prevalent opinions on modern housing the council advocated CIAM-style housing in a mix of middle-rise and high-rise apartment blocks.

Four so-called Lange Blokken (Long Blocks - 1954-'56) and six Torengebouwen (Tower buildings - 1960-'62) were built in the southern part after designs by H. van Kuyck. He also designed the terraced housing built in 1955 in the Columbiastraat. A central shopping centre was added in 1958. In the northern part of Luchtbal the new additions were  directly adjacent to the old garden village and the architects took a different approach by designing brick-skinned blocks of flats of 4 to 5 storeys high. These so-called Darsenblokken are all arranged around a large communal parklike garden. Directly south of the garden village sympathetic terraced houses and some blocks of elderly housing were built. These have since been torn down to make way for rather fashionable apartment buildings.

The housing in the harbour suburb of Luchtbal has always been at the forefront of what was considered modern housing at the time. The result is a number of urban fragments that sit alongside each other but have little to do with one another. Thus the whole is not valued for what it is. Because most of the housing in Luchtbal is social rented accommodation, the city council wishes to redevelop this area by introducing owner-occupied new housing. This approach is common in the Low Countries as it improves neighbourhood statistics in deprived areas. The pressing fact, however, is that there is too little social housing available as it is...    

Luchtbal is a very diverse urban area that is comprised of several neighbourhoods that equate to a fragmented urban landscape. The main reason for this is that in every development phase the new buildings were built according to what was considered modern at that time. As such the area provides  a perfect pattern-card of the changing ideas in urban design from the 1920s until now. The garden city inspired harbour suburb of the northern section can still be reconstructed from the pattern, although it is under great pressure from redevelopment thus probably rendering it  a few urban fragments in the future.