On behalf of a developer, VIVA started working on creating various residential units within the structure of two neglected multi-family homes in Antwerp North. Internally, the available width was optimally used by connecting the buildings. Despite being a merged project, it exudes unity, with a uniform facade in sober white and fresh green, a historical nod to the color accents of 20th-century buildings in the neighborhood.
Full textThe client, a developer in the Northern Antwerp region, purchased two adjacent buildings in very poor condition on De Pretstraat. VIVA was approached to review the mix of seven units - student rooms as well as small apartments - and optimize the living quality according to current standards.
A key intervention was to connect the two existing buildings internally. The gained width allowed for the creation of five larger residential units, each with their own outdoor space. Furthermore, it was decided to retain only the stairwell of the right-hand building in its entirety to provide the vertical circulation in the merged buildings.
Within the context of a growing and diverse neighborhood, the project focused on offering various forms of housing with an emphasis on quality and functionality. The new units range from a spacious cohousing apartment with a private garden and bedrooms with their own bathrooms on the ground floor, to two compact studios on the first floor. Two larger two-bedroom apartments occupy the second and third floors, with the top floor offering exclusive access to the rooftop terrace with a breathtaking panorama over the city of Antwerp.
To achieve the above configuration, both buildings were stripped down to their structural core. The floors were completely removed and replaced with new insulated floors. All exterior facades were insulated on the outside and fitted with new joinery. The existing plinths of the two buildings were replaced with a single connecting concrete plinth in a fresh green color, which is also echoed in the window frames and the rain gutters. This is a historical reference to the colored facade accents of 20th-century buildings in the neighborhood and contributes to the unity of the project's appearance.
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