The project consists of three separate buildings comprising social housing, that fit in Striga 2 of the masterplan of Secchi & Vigano for Nieuw Zuid in Antwerp. Through a reinterpretation of the masterplan, we make optimal use of the qualities of the site and have formulated an appropriate answer to the given context.
Buildings N°7 and N°8 are part of a green zone connecting the Schelde to the Park. They are aligned so as to provide public spaces that are diagonally connected.
Building N°12 is part of a more enclosed city block and respects the relation with the student housing that forms the other part of the development.
The unique relation between each house and its “panorama” is one of the most important elements of the masterplan. We have developed the housing units to overlook the Park with a southern orientation, the Schelde with a western orientation orto overlook the two connecting “woonerven” with a western orientation. We created a new panorama overlooking the roof garden in the centre part of N° 7.
Each panorama is connected to the living spaces through a semi-enclosed outdoor space.
Sustainability is not a separate architectural theme but a logical attitude that is permanently present in architecture without the need to manifest itself in a specific form. Sustainability needs a multidisciplinary vision and action.
The sustainability that we think is more important than the technical durability is the cultural durability in the way that Bob Van Reeth expresses it. It is a sustainability where the spatial conception makes the project durable and capable to adapt to the evolution that it will face in the future.In that sense the urban concept and the flexible structure are the most important elements.
Technically the whole site of Nieuw Zuid and this project are CO2 neutral. The buildings have a maximum energy consumption of 15 KWh/m2/year, are connected to a district heating system and have photovoltaic panels on the roofs.
The remaining CO2- emission of the whole site will be compensated by the investment in reforestation and renewable energy programs on other locations in Flanders or Belgium.
Team:
Architect: BOB361 architects
Acoustics: Venac
Landscape: Bureau Bas Smets
Technical engineer and stability: Sweco Belgium
Photography: André Nullens
