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0192 Fierensblok ×

Fierensblok is a competition entry for the conversion and renovation of a former social housing complex located in the neighborhood of Sint-Andries in Antwerp. The complex consists of an enclosed block and a linear building divided by a small street. It was built between 1937 and 1939 by architect Gustave Fierens and had been vacant for several years because the owner at the time was unsure whether to demolish or maintain it. The new owner’s brief included the update of the apartments while keeping the rents affordable, the preservation of the ground floor as a commercial plinth, and the new construction of an underground car park. The more recent building on the corner that is part of the same urban block was to be demolished and replaced by a new building. Several elements such as the facade, the interior stairwells had to be kept for reasons of historic preservation. Read more

As a first measure, the competition entry foresees the demolishing of the corner building as requested, but instead of filling it up with a new building it proposes to keep the corner empty. Thereby, a direct access to the inner courtyard is enabled transforming it into a semi-public space. Additionally, the firewalls are opened up and studios are allocated behind the window facade on the upper levels, establishing a visual connection between the inside and the outside. On the inside, the apartments are updated and the floor plans reorganized, so that more spacious, partly transverse living rooms are created. A new elevator is added, that is visible inside the adjacent apartments as a curved wall. The balcony space is enlarged by an adjacent room with outdoor climate (indoor loggia), that serves both as a summer loggia and winter buffer. On the roof and on the ground floor in the western building wing, new communal spaces are created: conservatories, a sauna, a yoga room, and multi-use spaces.
For the linear building, two main scenarios are proposed: one, that foresees the adaptation similar to the measures that apply for the block, and another one, that proposes its demolition in order to replace it with the typology of the 0126 VRMD (VierRichtungsModulDiagonal) which could cross-finance the interventions in the block to guarantee affordable rents. Read less

Category
Project
Place
Antwerp
Year
2016
Use
living, working
Collaboration
Brandlhuber+ architecten de vylder vinck taillieu, Doorzon Interieurarchitecten, Barbara Van Der Wee Architects, Util, BAST
Team
Matteo Corbellini, Olaf Grawert, Max Kesteloot, Leander Nowack, Alessandra Pelizzari, Kristof Schlüßler, Anna Wisborg

© Brandlhuber+ architecten de vylder vinck taillieu

© Brandlhuber+ architecten de vylder vinck taillieu

© Brandlhuber+ architecten de vylder vinck taillieu

© Brandlhuber+ architecten de vylder vinck taillieu

© Brandlhuber+ architecten de vylder vinck taillieu