The new building replaces a complex of modernist building volumes that used to occupy the entire site and could not be adapted to today’s sustainability standards.

As the Antwerp city centre has few public green surfaces, the transformation of the site from a merely private, mineral and infrastructural area into a public garden is a crucial requirement of the competition brief. Surrounded by fragments of public green, the parcel is key to the formation of a larger, coherent park. Another – contradictory - demand was to maintain a more recent representational pavilion, which was positioned as an obstacle in between the fragments.

By situating the full program in a compact volume across the pavilion, this frontage is cut up and the main entrance is brought close to the street.  This large volume, however, divides the park in a front and a back garden. Finally, by rotating the plan around one of its corners as it climbs up, the building shifts towards the centre; existing neighbouring buildings are respected and a sculptural form emerges. During the design process the pavilion building is at last replaced by a glazed volume to house the congress and exhibition part of the programme.

The building is conceived as a bridge structure over and across the pavilion. At the centre of the plan one large steel truss spans from one core to the other. Two more trusses are integrated in the concrete side walls and their triangulation defines the form of the window openings. In a next step this window form is applied all over the building as it turns out to be very efficient when it comes to an ideal balance between daylight access and overheating by the sun. The opaque façade is clad in circular, white glass mosaic, while the pavilion is a fully transparent box in the park.  

- Flexible offices inside a true icon -

The new headquarters for the Province of Antwerp is undoubtedly iconic. With respect for the architectural context, Silo developed and designed a comprehensive signage system. The result is an optimised and more pleasant user experience.

Triangular windows
XDGA designed the provincial government building as a composition of a transparent low-rise building and a perpendicular office tower that gradually pivots outwards. The minimalist low-rise includes the council chamber, exhibition space, conference centre and auditorium. The pattern of triangular windows characterises the brutalist high-rise.

Intrinsic beauty
Pure materials dominate the interior: concrete, brushed aluminium, high-gloss white and many glazed partition walls. The clear choice of materials, high-quality craft and the use of geometric rhythms and patterns give the building an impressive intrinsic beauty. The signage is designed in a formal language that matches the architecture and uses the interior surfaces as a canvas.

Follow the user
Different scenarios of visitors, guests and employees were analysed to guide users to their destination in the most optimal way. User flows based on these scenarios inform the sign plan, including all communicative touchpoints critical in the user journey. The systematic approach ensures that users receive the correct information at the right time.

A layered system
Silo developed an elegant layered system with a sculptural appearance. Thanks to an intelligent construction system, the signs impact the underlying materials as little as possible. A dynamic system complements fixed signs so that signage adapts to the programming and flexible use of spaces.