The cloister of Saint John's Church, built during the time of Notger, the first Prince-Bishop of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, and first renovated in the 16th century, had been vacant for several years. But that is now a thing of the past: this historic building will rise from its ashes and be given a new lease on life thanks to the City of Liège, Monument Hainaut, Gerday Travaux sa, and equipment supplied by Deschacht.
A piece of heritage is being given a new purpose
The Saint John's Cloister, connected to the collegiate Church of Saint John the Evangelist, is a privileged witness to the history of the Fiery City. Built between 980 and 987, Saint John the Evangelist was Notger's favorite church and, incidentally, housed his tomb. The City of Liège decided that the very dilapidated cloister on Place Xavier Neujean was in need of restoration. The former cloister will soon house 15 public housing units, a semi-public space, and a multifunctional hall for festive neighborhood events. The project is supported by the church fabric, which wants to restore the building to its former glory. Thanks to its rich past, the cloister was protected as a historical monument in 2006 with the support of the City; meaning that the renovation had to meet a number of strict criteria!
Mission accepted
The City of Liège entrusted this important assignment to Monument Hainaut, a Tournai-based company specializing in the renovation of so-called ‘complex’ structures. Known in the region for its high-quality work, the company was ideally suited for this (nearly) impossible task. However, it did not have to face this major challenge alone: it received help from Gerday Travaux SA, which handled the drainage for the project.
Deschacht, a logical choice
For the choice of equipment, Thierry Spreutels, Gerday's site manager, naturally turned to Deschacht. “We had already worked together on several projects with Deschacht, and everything had always gone very smoothly,” says Thierry Spreutels. “Their people are always available and very friendly. This project owes its success in particular to the quick responses from Vincent Brehl and Nordine Zeryouhi.” Deschacht had a great deal to offer for this project. “They suggested that if we ordered from them, in addition to the architect's study, they would calculate the diameter of the pipes to be installed. They also made an analysis of the number of sanitary fixtures and the roof surfaces. Moreover, their price for all that work was unbeatable.”
Restoring a protected building: a complex task
Moreover, the equipment had to meet the specifications criteria. For this exceptional project, Gerday ordered a complete solution featuring concrete drainage inspection chambers, non-return valves, and BENOR PVC pipes with diameters ranging from 110 mm to 315 mm. The difficulty? The work had to fit the building's style perfectly. The convent in the heart of the Fiery City put Deschacht's logistical skills to the test. Gianni Roca, dispatcher, talks about the challenges: “The tramway works caused traffic chaos, the unloading zone was very small, and we had very little time. My colleagues and I deal with these kinds of constraints every day. Our truck with a crane saves the customer time on the construction site and allows them to stick to their schedule.” “In a historic building, you can't just do whatever you want,” says Nordine Zeryouhi, project manager for Deschacht's design office. “The architecture of the convent had to remain as close to the original appearance as possible. The vaults were not always high enough for modern pipes, which are much bulkier than what was used when it was built. That made assembling the pipes difficult, not to mention connecting them to the sewer system. We had to work efficiently so that the technology took up as little space as possible.”
Gerday Travaux sa
19 workers, 3 salaried employees
demolition of buildings, repairing and construction of roads, laying of concrete slabs, hydraulic engineering
