Article source: Philippe SAMYN and PARTNERS sprl, architects & engineers
The sea evokes dreams. Adorned with the verses of Eluard, the Poet, the bronze sculpture by artist Ossip Zadkine, tells all of this on Albertplein, once the dynamic, beating heart of Knokke-Heist. The goal of this project is to breathe new life into that heart, to invite people to look, to see, to dream their life under the sunlight and in front of the sea, of which Albertplein will become an extension. The Albertplein bears the name of two of our former kings. It is located in Knokke-Heist, but it represents Belgium itself: a mix of people from Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia. It is also a square where a certain idea of harmonious ambiguity takes place, haute couture standing alongside coolers plainly and simply. It is called “Matuvu square” for a reason (litterally: “show-off square”). The project aims at highlighting the richness of this setting. A glazed pavilion at the centre of a body of water The central hemispherical pavilion is an ode to light. As music relates to silence, reflection relates to transparency, and shadow to light. Hence the dome’s pattern, consisting of two types of “super crystal clear” glass. One half of the triangles consists of regular clear reflective glass, whereas the other half consists of the same glass, treated with a very special coating, which makes almost all reflections disappear. This effect of endlessness and freedom is strengthened by the reflecting pool around the pavilion, visually giving it the scope of a full sphere.
Collaborators: Karim AMMOR, Gabriel BALTARIU, Sam DE DOBBELEER, Kasimir DE VALK, Mirela GANCHEVA, Ali LAGHRARI, Valentin PASCU, Vlad POPA, Massoud SEYED AZIZOLAH TEHRANY, Radu SOMFELEAN, Juliette YARAMIS, Ibrahim YILMAZ.
Documentation management: Philippe SAMYN and PARTNERS (André CHARON and Quentin OLBRECHTS)
Budget: 11.700.000 € (value as of index july 2017)
The existing house does not meet the energy requirements of the client and will therefore be demolished. Furthermore, the plot is wide and large enough for compaction: the realization of two semi-detached houses will be made possible.
Both buildings are solid-passive and together form one homogenous building. They use the mass of the supporting structure to regulate the temperature of the interior climate. Passive solar gains are obtained due to exact insertion of the window openings.
We are constructing two animal-related buildings on the boundary between the industrial site Maatheide and the nature reserve the Lommelse Sahara: an animal shelter and a pet crematorium. The buildings lack an attractive public reputation, hence their relocation to the industrial site, which in turn, is not accustomed to house public buildings. As an architecture assignment, the programmes too are fairly unfamiliar and thus require research into new, meaningful typologies.
Both buildings are planned along the new road connecting the industrial site to the nature reserve behind it. Both the shelter and the crematorium were provided with an enclosed private outdoor space, evoking the image of two stamps in an unscathed landscape, while the actual parcel limits are consciously left unformalised.
Article source: Philippe SAMYN and PARTNERS sprl, architects & engineers
The importance of the vertical development of cities
The vertical development of cities is one of the foundations of future urbanism for the sake of preserving the natural and agricultural territories.
The verticality is the result of common sense but the livability of vertical housing remains, as its architecture, to be elaborated in order to give rise to a community of inhabitants.
For decades, Philippe Samyn conceived proposals in this direction (see, for example, his essay “The Vertical City” published by the Royal Academy of Belgium in September 2014).
The project of the K-Tower is an integral part of this vision. It is about offering quality apartments instead of beautiful villas arranged in the periphery, the latter being too excessive, both in land consumption and in the development of urban networks.
Project: Reconstruction of The Tower at Sint-Amandscollege – K-Tower
Location: Kortrijk, Belgium
Photography: Carol Kohen, Quentin Olbrechts (Philippe SAMYN and PARTNERS)
Client: Van Roey Vastgoed nv (Van Roey group) and Koramic Real Estate
Design partner and direction: Dr Ir Philippe Samyn, architect
Partners in Charge: Liesbeth Gestels, architect and Jacques Ceyssens, architect (since 2011)
Collaborators: Giuseppe Cardillo, Antoine Colback, Sam De Dobbeleer, Dimitri Debougnoux, Maarten Franssens, Nathalie Masumbuko, Nacer Hosna, Elodie Noorbergen, Alexio Rava, Paolo Ruaro, Pawel Sieradzon, Gerrit Stevens, Gaofei Tan, Thomas Vandeweyer, Roeland Van Lammeren, Christophe Van Raemdonck, Monika Wielocha, architects.
Tags: Belgium, Kortrijk Comments Off on Reconstruction of The Tower at Sint-Amandscollege – K-Tower in Kortrijk, Belgium by Philippe SAMYN and PARTNERS sprl, architects & engineers
Article source: Philippe SAMYN and PARTNERS sprl, architects & engineers
Sponsor’s vision
Province Administration is bringing almost all its services together in one building to be constructed at its Salzinnes site. By establishing itself on the outskirts and at the edge of the Sambre River rather than in a high-profile city centre Namur Province has plumped for a high-impact yet sensitive position, to reflect how it regards its role.
This site should act as a city-level focal point with the outlying area serving to complement the centre. Consequently, the idea is to create a structure that has the ability to generate a deep affection for this new intellectual centre in Namur.
The image that springs to mind is of a village centre reflecting the province’s rurality and symbiotic relationship with nature. An invitation to our five senses to experience pleasure through the channel of art and culture.
The construction of the Namur Province Administrative Centre (MAP) will involve huge financial and environmental costs. The project seeks to obtain the maximum number of BREEAM credits, while highlighting the limits of this approach, as well as the questions raised. The project achieves a score of 93.53 %, or 8.53 margin points above “Outstanding” level.
Article source: Philippe SAMYN and PARTNERS sprl, architects & engineers
The Building
This cultural centre sits in the centre of Namur, on the north bank of the Sambre River, facing the historic centre of the town known as “Le Grognon”. Designed by Victor Bourgeois and built at the start of the 1960s, the building required renovation and extension to meet the current requirements of local people and to accommodate the redevelopment of the rue des Bouchers and the banks of the Sambre River.
The building used to consist of a 400-seater theatre at one end of a rectangular box-shaped space on four levels with a south-facing curtain wall (looking over the Sambre River) built up against a curved rectangular box-shaped space on five levels, known as the “croissant”, which has an east-facing curtain wall and a south-facing end wall which has no openings.
Tags: Belgium, Namur Comments Off on Maison De La Culture De La Province De Namur in Belgium by Philippe SAMYN and PARTNERS sprl, architects & engineers
The presented project involves the refurbishing of an ancient Princes of Mérode Castle's outbuilding into a sports center. This process involves the renovation of an accommodation wing and the complete reconfiguration of an old barn volume into a dining hall, administration offices and a multi-functional sports space.
The volume of the house is partially pushed in the natural slope of the terrain resulting in a front facade that is limited in height. The addition of a long horizontal window (fenêtre en longeur) between ground and first floor gives the house a certain lightness as it seems to almost float above its base. As a result, the house stands modestly against the backdrop of the landscape.
Thus half buried in the natural slope of the terrain, the day zone is situated on the garden floor, the night zone and entrance on the street side. The resulting volume is a direct translation of the program.
Bergmans outlet wanted to be more than a mere outlet store. Their ambition was to become the most inspiring European outlet store for men, women and children. The whole family should be able to enjoy a long day of shopping here.
Though it’s a typical 1800 m2 hangar location, the owner motivated WeWantMore to discover the limits between a genuine high-volume outlet and an inspiring fashion store. With famous top brands like Diesel, Replay, and others, the outlet had to become a relevant place for them all.
The extension on the roof starts a dialogue with the modernistic architecture of the house. There are new and old steel frame windows, there is an explicit choice for a similar and sober materiality and technical details and there is a balance between a new volume constructed with two kinds of planes (windows and roof) and an old massive volume.
The project is organised by introducing a void (new staircase) and a volume (new bathroom with bed on top).
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