Old Post Office (Ostend)
The old post office in Ostend served as the post office of the Flemish city of Ostend until 1999 and is located at Hendrik Serruyslaan 18. It was built between 1947 and 1953 according to the design of the architect and designer Gaston Eysselinck . Since December 2012 the building has been used as the De Grote Post cultural center .
history
After the post office at that time was destroyed by bombing in World War II , a new post office was built in the same place between 1947 and 1953. The secular building including the furniture was designed by Gaston Eysselinck . Although the building initially received little recognition in the post-war years, it was classified as a listed building by the Flemish authorities in 1981. In 2009 it was added to the list of cultural heritage.
In 1995, the Belgian Post outsourced its logistics to a new sorting center. In 1999, the post office was closed and the building was completely abandoned. After that, the building was almost completely empty. In 2003 the city of Ostend decided to become the new owner. She was pursuing the goal of giving the listed building a new purpose as a cultural center. The conversion and renovation plans were approved by the responsible supervisory authorities in 2009. The architects' office “B-architecten” from Antwerp then received the order for the complex renovation. In December 2012 the “De Grote Post” cultural center was opened.
Exterior
At the front of the building is a monumental copper sculpture by the Flemish artist Jozef Cantré . It bears the title “The Communication Media” (nl: De Communicatiemedia) or “Unity of the world through telephony, telegraphy and correspondence” (nl: Eenheid van de wereld door de telephony, telegrafie en postverkeer ). The work of art shows a naked goddess surrounded by four female figures. These are supposed to represent the different human races. There were strong differences of opinion between the client and the architect Eysselinck about this work of art. In 1953 Eysselinck was denied access to the construction site for this reason. It was not until 1963, after the death of Eysselinck and Cantré, that the sculpture was erected.
interior
The entrance hall is accessed through three revolving doors. The original building concept led customers through the two right doors into the counter area for letter and parcel post (PTT - Post, Telegraaf en Telefoon in België ), and through the left door into the area for telegraphy and telephony (RTT - Regie voor Telegraaf en Telephone ). The ceiling in the area of the letter and parcel post has the shape of a half basket. On the two gable ends there are two large ceramic mosaic reliefs by the artist Joe Maes . The motif in the eastern gable bears the title “The postal traffic in the past (nl: Het postverkeer in het verleden )”, the one in the western one is entitled “The postal traffic in the future (nl: Het postverkeer in de toekomst )”. Maes works are characterized by a heroic and allegorical representation. The entire ensemble of this counter hall remained unchanged after the building was rededicated. The Telegraphy and Telephony customer area has other work by Joe Maes. The total of 14 sandblasted glass reliefs show allegorical images which chronologically represent the development of telegraphy and telephony. This area of the old post office is now the café of the cultural center.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Website of the cultural center “De Grote Post”; (Dutch)
- ↑ Directory of the cultural heritage in Flanders: “De Inventoryis van het Onroerend Erfgoed” (Dutch)
- ↑ Project description of the Flemish authority "Agentschap Onroerend Erfgoed" (Dutch) ( Memento of the original from August 5, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Project description (English) ( Memento of the original dated August 4, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Detailed dossier from the city of Ostend on the "Voormalig postgebouw (PTT / RTT-gebouw)" (Dutch) ( Memento of the original from August 4, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 13 ′ 47.9 " N , 2 ° 54 ′ 57.5" E