Marc Dubois’s choice: the revitalization of a factory building from the 1970s. In this project, not only new offices have been accommodated but also a complete garden. According to Dubois, this rehabilitation strategy is exemplary as it may also be used by schools lacking space.

A pioneering building project from Belgium? For me, the new office premises of Robbrecht + Daem architects may be categorized as such because one finds here a very special conception in dealing with the existing building stock. The building in question, a huge factory hall, had been erected  in the early 1970s as a warehouse in which building materials were stored. Robbrecht + Daem have left the main hall of the huge building intact by creating a semi-covered garden in it. They inserted two office floors in an ancillary section on the long side of the hall. Huge glass walls frame the view of the “garden in the hall”. The architects’ underlying idea was to retain the large space and the old roof structure to let them act as part of a new urban fabric. This design approach would offer unusual alternatives in other contexts as well, e.g. in school buildings. Instead of demolishing abandoned industrial buildings and replacing them by new ones, the existing structures might be understood and reused as important elements in the framework of new designs.

The rebuilding project emerged somewhat unintentional while the architects were in search of new premises for their office. In the Ghent working class neighbourhood of Brugsepoort, Paul Robbrecht came upon the old industrial building – a large storage hall for constructional timber that lay hidden behind apartment buildings and garages. It was, as the saying goes, love at first sight. Without losing any time, the architect decided to purchase the building as he had at a glance understood the potential of creating a large garden alongside the required office rooms in this abandoned industrial building. In that case, even the hall’s roof structure could be retained. Furthermore, the site was big enough to add a private residential home fronting the street. The roof is a frame structure with elements of Glulam (glued laminated timber). It has been built by the De Coene company that had established its reputation by a series of pavilions for the Brussels World’s Fair in 1958.

When I saw the hall for the first time it immediately reminded me of a church with a huge nave and a narrow. elongated aisle. The latter was especially attractive for the architect as in this volume two offices could be accommodated. Today, several meetings room, the modelling workshop, and a spacious kitchen plus lounge are located on the ground floor while the upper floor has been reserved for the offices. All rooms have an unobstructed view of the former warehouse hangar’s interior. The cover on the roof over the nave has been partly removed so that in the evening the hall is fully illuminated from the west by the sun. This area once used for storing timber has now become an open space with particular qualities. There are some trees, definite areas in which flowers and grass are planted as well as a pond that is biologically self-cleaning thanks to aquatic plants. That pond is even deep enough for swimming. Another part of the hall has been covered with concrete slabs and is used as a location for temporary art installations. In the garden, a sculpture by Isa Genzken has been placed. Furthermore, there is a bicycle and car park. In the basement beneath the hall, the geothermal heating plant has been installed.

The main idea of the design is to open the hall while retaining the visual axes. The architects wanted to create a space focussing on wood and nature – an open space in which even birds do appear. This conversion project is a good example of the often overlooked development potentials hidden in old industrial buildings. Only after calling in question quick solutions like clearing a site or pulling down parts of the built structure one discovers the potentials of the existing interior spaces that quite often offer – in the literal sense - “fantastic” places in the urban context. The approach applied in the Ghent project might also be used in designing a school or a social services facility in the context of neighbourhood management. For such design approaches, humility is a prerequisite. Robbrecht + Daem have chosen a design idea that focuses on the quality of the place rather than aiming at spectacular, theatrical effects much too often seen in comparable projects.

 

Die Kernidee des Entwurfs bestand darin, die Halle zu öffnen und die Sichtachsen zu erhalten. Die Architekten wollten einen Raum, der die Themen Holz und Natur in den Vordergrund stellt, einen offenen Raum – selbst Vögel finden sich hier ein. Diese Umnutzung ist ein Beispiel dafür, dass in alten Industriebauten ein größeres Entwicklungspotenzial steckt, als man gemeinhin annimmt. Erst wenn man die schnellen Lösungen wie Abriss oder Teilabriss zu über­denken beginnt, stößt man auf die Möglichkei­ten vorhandener Binnenräume, die im Kontext der Stadt oft „fantastische“ Orte avant la lettre bieten. Das Genter Vorgehen wäre auch für eine Schule oder für eine soziale Einrichtung
im Rahmen des Quartiersmanagement denkbar. Für solche Entwurfsansätze ist Bescheidenheit notwendig. Robbrecht + Daem haben auf eine Entwurfsidee gesetzt, die die Qualität des Or-tes an sich herausstreicht – statt auf einen spek-takulären Show-Effekt abzuzielen, wie er bei ver­gleichbaren Projekten oft genug zum Einsatz kommt.

Fakten
Architekten Robbrecht + Daem, Gent

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aus Bauwelt 43.2010
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