A new tram line cuts the existing building of a technical school in the north of Antwerp. Alongside internal refurbishment of existing spaces, the project consists in two new workshops. Both take advantages of the existing surrounding walls to create new relationships between these specific classrooms and the planted courtyards.

Along the existing wall of the courtyard, thin masonry arches defined one of the new workshops. Originally meant as a space for masonry apprentices, the arched brickworks now host a bike reparation workshop. Adapting to the specific geometry of the courtyard, the arches offer a renewed relationship with the external spaces. The continuous concrete pavement further blurs the limit between interior and exterior. White vertical tiles wrap the entire façade.

The new textile workshop colonizes a trapezoidal left-over space between the school and the new tram line. Vertically place concrete blocks support a peripheral concrete beam. Secondary beams adapt to the peculiar geometry of the plot offering an unexpected spatiality to the classroom. This new roof floats above the fully glazed façades offering a new visual link between the two courtyards.

Material Used :

1. Ploegstreert – Red Bricks – Aloë Collection