VIVA Architecture: Blueberry Hill

Wood constructions City life Repurposing

The Blueberry Hill residential project focuses on a sustainable transformation of a warehouse listed as architectural heritage. The challenge is a collective residential building with a lot of attention to quality space and thus generating a positive impulse for the neighborhood.

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Blueberry Hill, a residential building that focuses on a sustainable transformation of an existing warehouse that is included as architectural heritage, is located on the Oudenaardsesteenweg in Kortrijk. The former warehouse, originally a wooden snuff windmill for grinding tobacco, was previously known as the building of the oil mill "Soetes Molen". The client wishes to transform the warehouse into a collective residential building with a lot of attention to quality space, with the aim of generating a positive impulse for the neighborhood.

The transformation has been carefully designed with respect for the existing warehouse, whose building envelope has aged over the years but has also been affected by pollution, extensions and plants. The existing main volume and later extensions will be demolished, leaving only the original volume of the warehouse. The design retains the original building envelope and adds a new structure in timber construction, according to the 'box-in-box' principle. The new volume, within the existing gabarit, creates outdoor space between the new and existing facades with indoor terraces on the street side. At the rear, a terrace construction will be realized within the volume of the original boundaries of the building.

This integration of old and new is expressed in a clear architectural language with striking red accents, as a tribute to the red brick. These accents are visible in the facade through impressive new entrance gates and are applied throughout the project.

At the rear, a large communal garden will be provided on the site of the current 'adventure park', linked to one of the original sheds with a shed roof, which functions as a communal garden pavilion.

The sustainable character of the project is reflected in the construction methods used, materials and flexibility in time and space. The building is constructed from sustainable CLT (Cross-Laminated Timber), and the flexibility extends to all residential units, which can be adapted to 1, 2 or 3 bedrooms depending on the living situation.

The residential project includes a total of 18 new apartments and a commercial space on the ground floor. It focuses on young singles and families who are looking for a rich living environment, partly thanks to the collective facilities such as a shared working environment, a garden pavilion, shared cars, shared bicycles and green outdoor space. Blueberry Hill aims to breathe new life into the existing warehouse in a sustainable way, thus giving a positive boost to the neighborhood.

Location : Kortrijk

Area : 3.500 m²

Date : 2022 - on site

Client : AV Bouw

Team : Boydens, Cobe

Photography : VIVA Architecture, Nuvillu