CLIENT

Acasa

ARCHITECT

360 architecten

FACING BRICKS

Brick7  Nature7 Brick R

PROCESSING

random bond, dark grey recessed joint

View 'Stapelplein' here
from the air

Info about
'Building with Brick7'?

The most sustainable form of urban renewal is the upgrading of existing neighbourhoods. Ghent is excelling at just that as a wind of change is clearly blowing in the old port area of Oude Dokken. The remarkable and innovative Melopee city school was already an attraction and now living comfort has also been enhanced with the new residential tower block on Stapelplein. The design by 360 Architecten is part of a masterplan for the site and serves as a reference point for the process of converting the area into a sustainable urban district.

The office of Rem Koolhaas outlined the masterplan for the conversion of the old city port into a residential district. During the competition for the ‘Stapelplein’ part of the site, 360 Architecten further refined their concept of the ‘stick model’ with buildings interspersed with open park zones on both sides of the old dock, in the form of a new urban design. Kris Buyse (360 Architecten) explains: “We took the scale of the nearby Handelsdokcenter as a reference and came up with the idea of designing the new buildings along Stapelplein as a variation on the ‘palazzo’, an enclosed building form in the shape of a horseshoe, oriented towards the water.

The RUP already included a residential tower block at the front of the site. We took the typology and scale of an urban warehouse as our starting point, based on an ever-ambitious plan by city architect Louis Roelandt. We decided to give the residential tower block a nuanced profile too, in keeping with the palazzos on the one hand and rising proudly as a beacon and point of reference for the new developments at the Oude Dokken on the other hand.”

The residential tower block can be approached from all sides, enabling it to be read differently from each side. On the dock side, the connection to the adjacent palazzo is paramount and here, the tower has a plinth which matches the palazzo in terms of height. From the ledge, the tower is stepped back and the floors above are designed with a flat façade. The south façade is a true terrace façade with individual terraces, balconies and loggias while the west façade is again oriented towards the city centre and, together with the plinth, forms a more intimate entrance square. The north façade has two parts, again with a lower plinth and a flat façade set back, but then oriented towards the port.

The residential tower block plays a prominent role on Stapelplein and is also important as a beacon for the Oude Dokken in general. Therefore that meant having to choose appropriate materials for the project. “In view of the location at the old city port, we decided a robust appearance was called for. That is what led us to choose brick and concrete as our materials. However finding exactly the right shade took a great deal of searching but we eventually chose a grey-green shade as that was the colour that we kept seeing in old structures at the port. Brick R from Vande Moortel was the best fit since it had both the desired robustness and the right shade. In addition, brick R has a completely natural look, when viewed both from a distance and up close, and helped to clearly define the various façade sections.”

Each of those façades are constructed from continuous floor bands in prefabricated concrete with a green pigment in it. In between the floor bands are slices of brickwork which were constructed to provide the basic grid for the tower. In the deep window recesses, the window transition was realised in glazed brick, also with a green tint. The same glazed bricks were used in the plinth of the building as well as to crown the highest level. The aluminium windows and balustrades were given a light anodized tint in a champagne colour which gave the residential tower block a warm, rich appearance.

But the main role is therefore played by the Hand-Made Nature7 Brick R which was laid in stretcher bond and processed with a traditional joint. By using continuous concrete floor bands, all the areas of brickwork are reduced to small surfaces. It also meant that there was no need for expansion joints in the main façades. Choosing the ecological Brick7 format which is 7 cm deep rather than the classic 10 also gave the project a much more sustainable narrative since it made a 30% saving on raw materials which meant less energy consumption and CO2 emissions as well as fewer transport movements from the brickworks to site. So a win-win situation all round.

Circularity and sustainability are high on the agenda of every project that 360 Architecten undertakes. “Apart from the format of the brick, our primary focus for the residential tower block was to have a sustainable and intelligent shell where structural elements would obstruct the implementation of future plans as little as possible. The clear circulation and support structure, the repetitive façade construction and simple detailing with brick and concrete provide a robust framework which will allow flexible integration during the implementation of future plans. In view of its high-rise character, we also focussed on wind comfort around and underneath the tower. The numerous staggered façades and cantilever elements help to avoid wind shear while the generous integrated terraces are also sheltered from the wind.

On a wider scale, the urban design with its palazzos, tower, redesigned quay and park zone will form the impetus for a sustainable urban district at the old city port. Furthermore, all the buildings are also connected to the SPE power station opposite so that any residual heat can be used to heat the apartments. With urban renewal projects like these, Ghent is demonstrating its healthy ambition to create a liveable and energy-efficient city,” concludes Kris Buyse.