(08-06-2011) PROJECT UPDATE - Groenendael College, Merksem (B)

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08.06.2011 / We present competition design.

 

Today we present our Open Call-submission for the reconversion of a castle into a school. At present, the castle consists of a historic main building and a fairly recent, ‘cloned’ extension: although the latter is only 50 years old, its appearance is a mirror-image of the original castle. The main problem with the extension lies not in its architecture – one can only stand in wonder for the tenacity through which all the historic details and materials were replicated – but in its section: the shear mass of the extension - with its deep plan and low ceiling heights - completely diminishes the original relation between the ground floor ‘salons’ in the main building, and the surrounding park. We therefore decided to keep the elevations of the extension, but to alter the section. By breaking away the floors and by changing the concrete roof structure into a glazed structure, we provide a large double-height ‘hallroom’ where all the multifunctional and semi-public functions can be housed. Its identity as a vacuum between the castle and the park gives a new meaning to the position of the historic ‘salons’ in the main building. By organizing the large programmatic entities in the upgraded extension, the original main building can be carefully restored into classrooms and administrative rooms.