Zonneheem, Eeklo
designers:
BOB 361
client:
Dexia Bank nv, voor Stad Eeklo
general contractor:
Mevaco (Aalter); Bouwcentrale Modern (Kaprijke)
location:
Eeklo, Schietspoelstraat 9
status:
completed in 2009
The new cafeteria and activity spaces in the Zonneheem Welfare Center are housed on a single-story, beam-shaped volume parallel to the existing building. The joinery in the façade creates a lattice pattern of colored reflective glass and wood which envelops the elongated spaces. To enhance this effect, the deep jambs of the joinery columns are positioned next to (rather than under) the roof, while at the same time being the load-bearing structure for the volume. What initially appeared to be a structurally illogical solution turned out to be an architectural necessity for both architect and engineer, since other more structurally logical solutions — such as slender steel columns under the roof — would not create the desired architectural tension.
The architectural and structural challenge was to design slender wooden columns, which are in harmony with all the wooden finish in the building, and form an integral part of the joinery. The columns were duplicated and executed in laminated tropical hardwood to preserve their slim appearance as joinery. The roof was provided with ingenious steel fins that were fixed inside the tops of the columns, thus hiding the connection from view.
This structural tour de force has resulted in a clearly readable architecture in which no distinction is made between joinery and stability, thereby illustrating the tension between architecture and structure.
client:
Dexia Bank nv, voor Stad Eeklo
general contractor:
Mevaco (Aalter); Bouwcentrale Modern (Kaprijke)
location:
Eeklo, Schietspoelstraat 9
status:
completed in 2009