Roeselare knowledge centre ARhus

A key project in the heart of the Belgian city of Roeselare is the renewal of the inner-city nucleus formed by Noordstraat, Ooststraat and Henri Horriestraat. The city centre will be structurally strengthened by enlarging a modern centre of knowledge and learning, developing additional commercial premises and building new homes. The renewal project is situated right in the centre of the city. It is an integral part of the main shopping precinct that stretches between the Saint Michael Church and the Grote Markt (market square) on the one hand and the railway station on the other.

The 'knowledge centre' project is situated on the former site of the Bank of Roeselare in the heart of the city. The site will become a new multifunctional inner-city area with private and public functions including everything from housing, homes for senior citizens, shops, offices and exhibition areas to a knowledge centre with a library. The knowledge centre is going to be an open house, a public information forum and meeting place for people of all ages.

This new node of functions in the city will be built around a pedestrian shopping street with a public square. The site connects directly with the existing shopping streets and the Grote Markt, the market square.

The project’s multifunctional embodiment and high-quality architecture will enhance the liveability of Roeselare’s nucleus.

Fireforum Awards 2012 - nominated Joinery Awards 2012 - laureate category aluminium Benelux Aluminium Awards 2013 - laureate

ARhus, a library project in Belgium, is a perfect example of how unused space can become usable. 

When the Knowledge Library opened in 2014, the entry hall on the ground floor and the mezzanine was one open foyer. Soon after, ARhus realized that the foyer was rarely used because it was just too big. 

To maximize the usability of this dormant space, a Skyfold Mirage® acoustic glass vertically folding operable wall was installed to create flexible division between the entry hall and the now smaller foyer. What was once idle space can now be sub-divided to create multi-functional zones and a meeting room, or it can be expanded for use as a large meeting point. 

Despite introducing a movable wall into the space, ARhus still wanted the mezzanine to feel like an extension of the entry hall. The Mirage glass panels were able to achieve this while also ensuring that natural light can flow between the spaces. Even when the area is segmented, the glass panels make the spaces feel connected instead of isolated. 

Since this was more of a matter of space management rather than acoustic or visual privacy, the Skyfold Mirage was an innovative, easy, and welcoming solution thanks to its automatic system and transparency. But for ARhus, Mirage’s transparency and flexibility goes beyond function; Mirage emulates its purpose as a knowledge centre where knowledge is shared and where its doors and spaces are always open to the community. 

vzw Het Portaal granted the construction of the knowledge centre and library in Roeselare to STRABAG Belgium nv. The old bank building “De Munt” received a brand new identity. This modern knowledge centre is more than just a library, it operates as a multifunctional meetingplace for students, neighbours and other interested persons. Visitors can use the accomodation freely on all 6 floors: class rooms, study areas, meeting rooms and a cafeteria. Next, this new library is a part of the innovative platform “Het Portaal” that encourages lifelong learning.

The order involved the closed carcass and finishing while the existing structure was maintained. The library in Roeselare was mainly a renovation project with a small new construction part. Furthermore, the building has been entirely stripped and renovated for a total value of 12,5 million euro. 810 m2 of concrete, 190 000 kg of steel, pile foundations and micro piles were used within the project.

The Knowledge Centre AR hus opened in the very centre of the provincial Flemish city of Roeselare in 2014. It is a multifunctional building housing facilities including a city library, an archive, bicycle parking, offices, teaching rooms, meeting facilities, and various cultural and social spaces. BURO II & AR CHI+I have used glass to create an open and lively building.

According to the director of ARhus, Yves Rosseel, the fact that the building houses so many different functions resulted in it being given the new name of AR hus. The letters A and R are the initials of Albrecht Rodenbach, a Flemish poet born in the mid-19th century in Roeselare. ‘Hus’ is the West-Flemish word for ‘house’. The ‘open house’ currently fulfils the role of meeting place and public information forum for the residents of and visitors to Roeselare.

The entire glass building has been designed by BURO II & AR CHI+I. This multidisciplinary firm with more than 120 employees has branches in Brussels, Ghent, and Roeselare itself, where architect Jo Baeke is based. He himself has been involved with the city centre regeneration project, of which AR hus forms an important part. Originally, the ‘Bank van Roeselare en West-Vlaanderen’ (Bank of Roeselare and West Flanders) stood at this location - a solid looking closed building constructed from natural stone and a lot of reflective glass. The decision was made to strip the building entirely and to only retain the concrete structure. The enclosed core with its stairwells and lifts at one end of the old bank building have been completely demolished. In the knowledge centre, the new stairs have now been constructed in the zone directly behind the glass façade. The ‘architectural route’ that is created within the building in this way gives the façade a dynamic and lively look and feel, which fits in well with the public character of the building.

Depth and liveliness

Project architects Jo Baeke and Lorenzo Kemel explain that the glass façade is made up of three different types of glass: clear, transparent glass, green tinted glass, and enamelled white glass. “The surfaces of the clear and green glass panels are all level with each other while the closed-off white glass panels are positioned about twelve centimetres further forwards”, explains Jo Baeke. This lends additional depth and liveliness to the flat curtain wall with its total surface area of around 2,700 square metres. Lorenzo Kemel continues: “The enamelled glass panels have two different widths (100 cm and 140 cm) and appear to have been arranged at random. In fact, however, there is a strict rhythm and regularity behind the apparent arbitrariness. Every other bay features a single curtain wall style, running from top to bottom.”

The curtain wall using Reynaers CW 50 profiles was executed by De Witte Aluminiumconstructies NV from Wetteren, as a subcontractor of Strabag Belgium nv Region West. The company first produced a mock-up at the building location, in which all the diagonal details and different types of glass could be clearly seen. This was a very special project for project coordinator Filip Middernacht of De Witte. “The façade features several diagonal sections, giving rise to complex junctions that all needed to be drawn separately. This was particularly important for ordering the various types of glass and aluminium profiles”, according to Middernacht. He also explains that the drainage takes place as much as possible via the vertical parts. “In places where the vertical parts are interrupted by horizontal parts, the water is led via the horizontal section to the nearest vertical section. We therefore needed to continually pay attention to ensuring a perfect seal between the vertical and horizontal façade profiles”, concludes Middernacht.

Several bespoke solutions were developed by Reynaers in collaboration with De Witte Aluminiumconstructies such as a T-shaped face cap for the clamping of the enamelled white glass panel. Horizontally, this protruding element is shut off by a rectangular face cap that runs through to accentuate the lines of the façade. Special brackets were created to carry the weight of these elements. For a more flush appearance, a flat face cap was used for the CW 50 transoms that are positioned between two floors.

All of this has worked very well, as demonstrated by the fact that AR hus has won several prizes. In 2012, the project won the ‘Schrijnwerk Award’ (Joinery Award) due to the excellent execution and exceptional technical challenges. A year later, the building won another prize; this time the ‘Benelux Aluminium Award,’ a distinction awarded to exceptionally sustainable renovations.