ANTWERPEN CYCLING CENTRE
by Max Lee Arnold
The Antwerpen Cycling Centre is a destination for all cyclists in the heart of Antwerp. This cutting-edge facility offers a vast underground bike storage and changing spaces for commuters as well as three brand-new downhill mountain biking tracks that wrap around the envelope of the renovated 1950s office building. The new development offers a striking glulam pavilion in the heart of the city centre as a terminus for the 3 separate routes which run throughout and around the building. The automated facility will take bikes from ground level and store them into retractable racks. The entire production of the facility can be viewed by the large overhead windows. The Ground level space accommodates a 2-storey bike store, the entrance lobby for office users, a restaurant and the box office and events space for the downhill mountain biking circuits. The roof terrace features a solar panel canopy over a warm-up velodrome next to the starting positions for the downhill mountain biking routes. The west side of the roof has a rooftop bar, great for watching the sunset over Antwerp with a view of the grand train station to the east.
