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OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen . photos: © Bas Princen
This project is the conversion of a worn out building into a contemporary and durable office space, without demolishing its skeleton. By introducing an independent facade around the stripped existing building, that serves both as an architectural element and a technical tool, we contain and control the distribution of technical installations and natural light and give the building a new urban presence.
The new facade consists of a sequence of hollow concrete columns of various size, which contain the technical ducts and machinery characteristic for a contemporary ecological project. As a structure it is independent from the existing building. It supports a series of terrace slabs, whose depth vary according to the orientation, and that function as solar protection. The existing core of the building is maintained and optimised to include a stair and an elevator.
A second core for sanitary installations is added behind the opposite facade, thus creating two similar office spaces per building level and providing a flexible frame for possible future programmatic infills. Around the building we reduced the former parking by a new organisation in the back of the lot, making room for a public garden and a lunch terrace at the street side.
