Sports center De Boerekreek, Sint-Jan-in-Eremo
designers:
Coussée & Goris architecten
client:
Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen
general contractor:
Strabag (Gent)
location:
Sint-Jan-in-Eremo, Sint-Jansstraat 142
gross surface (m2):
3720
status:
completed in 2008
This complex lies embedded in a medieval polder landscape interlaced with dykes and creeks. Three wings — bedrooms, a refectory and stable block — in a simple U-shape embrace a central inner courtyard bisected by a long stately drinking trough. The stable breaks the recurring rhythm of colonnades and poplar trees and is like a barn that expands and contracts as it adjusts to its underlying space.
The structure of the stables is expressed in rafters that follow the expansion of the space. Although the rafters appear identical, each is adapted to the expanding space. By developing the structure of the rafters with reference to the architecture and the volume, they emphasize the architecture. The spatial requirements determine the rafter proportions, which in turn modulate the space and reinforce its architectural character. This is similar to a violin case where the surroundings and the structure must be perfectly in tune with one another.
The rafters are clamped to the columns and together form portals which are able to absorb the horizontal forces of the wind. In the lower section of the roof, the strength of the portals is lessened and the rafters have had to be increased in depth. The underside of the rafter is concave in shape. In the upper section of the roof, the strength of the portal is increased enabling the depth of the rafters to be reduced. This gives the rafters their convex shape. In the middle of the space, the underside of the rafter runs parallel to the roof plane. This generates a spatially playful undulation of rafters from concave to convex, which is related to the expanding and contracting countermovement of the surface plane of the roof.
client:
Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen
general contractor:
Strabag (Gent)
location:
Sint-Jan-in-Eremo, Sint-Jansstraat 142
gross surface (m2):
3720
status:
completed in 2008