Page 97 - AIT0319_E-Paper

Entwurf • Design dmvA, BE-Mechelen
Bauherr • Client Stadt Mechelen
Standort • Location Scheerstraat, BE-Mechelen
Nutzfläche • Floor space 689 m 2
Fotos • Photos Sergio Pirrone
Mehr Infos auf Seite • More infos on page 174

HOUSE LORRAINE

IN MECHELEN

Within just a few years, the Belgian City of Mechelen has
developed from a social hotspot into an attractive living
environment for a multicultural society. With the contem-
porary reconstruction of a corner building located direct-
ly on the large market square, dmvA Architecten recently
contributed to the upgrading of the city and at the same
time created attractive living space for five tenants.
Ansicht Scheerstraat • Elevation Scheerstraat

M echelen was a flourishing trading town and bishop's seat before
it become the dirtiest city in Belgium. This epoch is now over,
and unlike the glorious centuries before, there is fortunately very little
evidence of dilapidation and decay today. The change started with
Mayor Bart Somers, who has been in office since 2001 and who, in
addition to a zero-tolerance policy, focuses on the equal integration of
all 138 nations living in the area. As a result, the small neglected city
in Flanders has become one of the most attractive ones in the country.
An important aspect here are urban development measures - starting
with the cleaning and upgrading of streets, playgrounds, and parks by
means of attractive models for shop owners through to the renovation
of entire neighbourhoods. In addition, the city centre with more than
300 listed Renaissance buildings has been restored to its former splen-
dour. On the large market square, the Grote Markt, the local architects
of dmvA have redesigned a dilapidated corner building on behalf of
the city. In addition to renovating the existing building, David Driessen
Grundriss Erdgeschoss • Ground floor plan Grundriss 1. Obergeschoss • Level 1 floor plan and Tom Verschueren developed three façades along the road
Scheerstraat, which reflect the small-scale rhythm of the historic sur-
roundings and the radiant white paint of the original building. At the
same time, the choice of materials – from all-over glazing to perforated
prefabricated concrete elements with a cruciform pattern to alumini-
um lamellas – effectively interweaves past and present. The project has
created two shops on the ground floor and five vertically organised
apartments with floor areas ranging between 75 and 125 square metres
on four storeys. The complex is accessed via an internal path, which is
covered by private terraces. Their floors are made of expanded metal,
which guarantees that daylight enters all areas of the deep corner plot
and facilitates neighbourly exchange. Inside, the architects were as
radical as they were on the outside. All surfaces are finished comple-
tely in white, the layout is largely open-plan. This way Driessen and
Verschueren grant the residents a high degree of freedom to occupy
Grundriss 2. Obergeschoss • Level 2 floor plan Grundriss 3. Obergeschoss • Level 3 floor plan and use their new refuge.

AIT 3.2019 • 097