- Location: Beringen, Belgium
- Program: Residential
- Area: 2.803 m²
- Year: 2021
- Status: Realized
The design of this striking building transcends the banality of contemporary apartment buildings. A monolithic building is created that, as it were, encompasses a green oasis within a separate shell, but tailored to Beringen. The program includes 12 unique apartments on the first floor. These residential units are spaciously designed with a west or east terrace that wraps around and merges into balconies. Very specifically, this building is further characterized by its green facade made up of climbing plants led along rain chains.
Programmatically, the decision has been made to move the current pharmacy to the ground floor of this striking building. In this way, we create a commercial plinth in favor of the fordability of the inner area. In addition, heavy traffic is also banned to the edges of the project area in this way.
IMPLANTATION
The striking building has 4 floors. The building has a footprint of 25.2 by 20m; the first-floor projects 2.80m and 4m respectively compared to the ground floor. The current pharmacy will be housed on the ground floor, while 12 unique apartments will be provided on the upper floors. The building will be placed as far back as possible in order to safeguard the view of the market from the apartments on Koerselsesteenweg as much as possible. This also creates a front zone for the striking building, which will be redesigned together with the redevelopment of the Markt and Koerselsesteenweg (assigned by the City of Beringen). In consultation with the city of Beringen, 6 temporary parking spaces have been provided in this front zone for the benefit of the operator of the ground-floor pharmacy.
Under the striking building is a spacious private cellar which is accessible via the public car park. You drive into the public car park on Graaf van Loonstraat and the private car park of the striking building remains separated from this public car park via a second barrier or open entrance gate.
CONCEPT & MATERIAL SELECTION
The concept of the striking building is conceived as a retracted glass plinth, within which commercial activity takes place. Above this, a uniform 3-layer building volume is placed with a living facade that always gives the building a different appearance to its surroundings. We can describe it as living in an oasis of green.
A uniform building is created that, as it were, encompasses a green oasis, tailored to Beringen, within a separate building envelope. This shell is made up of a green facade of climbing plants that are guided along rain chains. On floor +01, a plant zone is provided on the outer edge of the terraces from which the rain chains depart. This way the climbing plants can grow up along the rain chains. The rainwater that ends up on the terraces and overhanging canopies will be led via an integrated gutter to the rain chains, along which the water will drain to the planter at +01. In this way, the plants become watered provided; in dry periods you can still add water to the planter. If the planter on +01 is saturated, the excess water will be led further to ground level via a few rain chains, where it will end up in a planter positioned on 2 sides of the building under the overhanging canopies. From these planters, the remaining water is led to an infiltration well.
Behind this living facade are 12 unique apartments on the first floor, each with a west or east terrace that continues all around and turns into balconies. This gives the apartments the necessary privacy but with sufficient transparency of their surroundings. Living here is regarded as a unique experience and the exclusive character is enhanced by the limited supply.