Brewery Reconversion / AUX bureau voor architectuur en stedenbouw
Textual content description offered by the architects. The undertaking is situated in the course of a residential constructing block, on the outskirts of the town heart of Ghent. Attribute of this Nineteenth-century periphery was the combo of housing, crafts, and small industrial actions. Accessible by a small passageway at a avenue fashioned by townhouses lies the location of the previous ‘Ghentbruges Steambrewery’ (Gentbrugsche Stoombierbrouwerij )on a floor of 2700 sm. The town brewery was based in 1890 and takes its title from the then innovational strategy of steam-driven equipment.
Though the brewery was highly regarded for its beers and sodas across the metropolis of Ghent the manufacturing facility’s success didn’t final lengthy. Attributable to extreme harm to the infrastructure in WOI and the excessive prices of small-scale brewing, afterward, it was now not viable and was closed down. In successive many years the location was occupied by stone masonry and after that, it turned deserted. From the previous brewery web site, there are three distinguished brick buildings nonetheless remaining, adjoining to the central courtyard: the home of the manufacturing facility director (left, grey), the precise brewery constructing with the kettles and malt rooms (center, white), and the water tower, housing the steam machine (proper)
Since 2010 the location has been revitalized. The administrators’ home has gotten new inhabitants and 4 warehouses have been transformed to single-family houses. As well as, new work capabilities have been housed on-site. Up until now a carpenter/ furnishings designer, a metal employee, and an structure officer have been settled there. Different buildings are used as storage areas, garages, and workplaces of the residents on-site and from across the neighborhood.
In 2016 the final to be reconverted previous buildings have been put up on the market: the exceptional water tower and the adjoining brewery constructing. The water tower has a small footprint of seven by 7 meters and has 4 (new) flooring. The brewery constructing consists of a quantity with three flooring over two pitched roofs simply behind each other. On the best flooring, underneath the pitched roofs, grain and hops have been saved. On the center flooring, the brewing kettles and malt rooms have been discovered. On the bottom flooring, positioned one meter decrease than the central courtyard, the barrels have been saved.
The largest problem of the undertaking consisted of the reconversion from a former industrial constructing to housing and industrial capabilities. City laws allowed to the allocation of a single-family dwelling to the brewery constructing. As a way to enable the conversion, all buildings inside the constructing block needed to demolish 1/3rd of the footprint of the constructing itself to be able to create a ground-bound backyard. Within the case of the brewery constructing, this meant demolishing 200 sqm of flooring house to be able to create a ground-bound backyard. And even so, the backyard can be sunk in from the bottom degree by one meter and fully reduce off from daylight as a result of remaining excessive partitions round it.
The water tower itself was solely designated for industrial capabilities, however because of its kind not sensible in use. By making use of the huge load-bearing capability of the commercial constructing and contemplating the water tower and the brewery as one constructing, the next proposal to the town’s city planners was made: Solely the again pitched roof of the constructing can be eliminated (1/2 of the footprint) and transformed to a roof backyard, as qualitative and sustainable as a basic ground-bound backyard. This manner, the underlying flooring might stay as they have been, and the residing areas positioned on the highest flooring (with a most of daylight). And now contemplating the tower and the brewery as an entire housing operate may very well be allotted to the tower as effectively. As further compensation, the garages in entrance of the buildings have been eliminated and a brand new entrance backyard was added, together with a big effectively for rainwater.
That method creates a brand new composition of capabilities within the two buildings: the household home has its new entrance on the stately water tower, the place the circulation and night time capabilities are discovered. The residing space adjoins the roof backyard on the highest flooring. The center flooring of the brewery serves as an open-plan house for the structure workplace. On the bottom flooring, workplaces and storage are discovered.
Attributable to years of neglect and emptiness, the water tower was in a state of decline. The within of the constructing was fully empty. The façade has been restored to its former state. Outdated and new masonry patchwork reminds us of the historical past of the constructing. Inside, the previous settlement pit beneath has been reconverted right into a storage. The tower itself has been crammed in with new tales, related with a brand new spiral staircase, typical of a tower-typology constructing. At degree +0.5 the doorway corridor and cloakroom and bed room. At degree +1.5 one other bed room with an adjoining visitor lavatory, bathroom, and storage room/technical room.
On the highest flooring the main bedroom, lavatory, dressing room, and bathroom are situated. As a way to retain the historic character of the skin of the constructing, the tower has been insulated from the within out. By accentuating the commercial character of no less than one floor or ingredient in every house, the previous stays smart. Complementary to the tough industrial textures, the inside is completed with the comfortable colours of the plasterwork and cement flooring. On the main bedroom flooring, the within finishings cease on the ceiling of the adjoining lavatory and dressing room with a clear reduce. Above this clear décor, the previous partitions and masonry ceiling, and manhole of the previous water basin stand out.
After a stroll by the small-scaled corridors of the tower, the intense and spacious residing house is accessed. The extent consists of 1 closed-pitched roof and one opened-up roof (the roof backyard). In between these two volumes, a brick-built ‘field’ has been put in, housing the kitchen/consuming space. Functioning as a décor from a theatre, the partitions from the field divide the open house into completely different sequences and provides the residing house a human scale. The travertine flooring and limewashed partitions give the décor its personal id within the larger quantity. By constructing the kitchen island in the identical stacked bond sample and integrating the cooking capabilities in niches a skinny line between the archetype ‘kitchen’ and ‘eating space’ is created. The heavy oak beam and forged iron column remind me of the historical past of the constructing. The previous service hatch between the tower and the brewery now affords a view between the glass bathe and the residing space, creating spaciousness within the lavatory.
The roof backyard is conceived as an outdoor ‘chamber’, situated within the again pitched roof-volume. Part of the previous roof remained and creates a lined terrace. The prevailing exterior partitions of the quantity have been left untouched, giving a sense of intimacy to the backyard, situated in the course of the massive constructing block. By means of the unique window openings, refined view in direction of the encircling homes and gardens. The glass path in direction of the terrace at the back of the roof backyard gives the required daylight to the underlying structure workplace. Due to the peak of the roof backyard on the high flooring, the crown of the timber cover over the backyard terrace. The roof backyard is a tree home.
