After drawing up the master plan and after remediating the entire area, facilities were constructed for the urban renewal project “De Ververij” in Ronse for the functioning of the ‘Stedelijke Academie and the infrastructure for the cultural department of the city. The program includes a music academy, spaces for visual arts, a dance studio, and an exhibition space.

The new music academy is flanked by existing buildings and fragments of the former textile factory “De Nieuwe Leie” which was thoroughly renovated. A balance has been sought between preservation and innovation. The art academy is a simple volume where some manipulations create remarkable interior spaces. Special attention was paid to the acoustic needs and expectations of the building’s various musical users. Comprehensive sustainability is the challenge here: contextual, compact, low-energy, correct use of materials, flexibility, water recovery, … In a later phase, a theater is planned, also grafted onto the underlying post-industrial footprint.