The Sint-Niklaas housing society wants to renovate and transform two apartment buildings, in total 98 homes, so that the homes once again meet today’s comfort requirements. The ground floors of the existing buildings make too little contribution to the quality of the (public) area. The public domain is partly green but is mainly dominated by infrastructure and (individual) parking. This transformation project renews the housing offer and provides a quality boost to the residential quality of this area.
Our proposal looks for the right approach regarding to the homes and design of the public space in order to transform this place into a residential environment with its own character, embedded in the environment. Identity, well-being, safety and security are the core values. Given the specificities of the location, the focus is on the quality of living and outdoor space in combination with collective public space, adapted to the environment.
The new interpretation of the project site intelligently links the individual housing wishes to collective social goals. This new way of living contributes to the development of a qualitative and active public space. Important elements of this plan are the collectivity of the neighborhood and the added value that the new development offers in terms of quality and perception of the environment.
Peter Benoitpark
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Transformation from parking to park
Informatie
Information
Status: Competition 2019
Team: Johan De Wachter, Joris van Arkel, Nicolette Marzovilla, Xavier Aguilar en Virginia Lazarou
Client: Sint-Niklase maatschappij voor de huisvesting
Location: Sint-Niklaas, BE
Program: Renovation and transformation of two apartment buildings
Peter Benoitpark
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Johan De Wachter
Johan de Wachter is an architect and founding partner at Woonwerk Architecten. He came to Rotterdam after his studies at the Catholic University of Louvain (KUL) and worked from 2000 to 2004 at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA/Rem Koolhaas) on various urban planning and architecture projects and competitions. In 2003 he founded Fün Design Consultancy and was a partner until 2005. In 2005 he founded Johan De Wachter Architecten and in 2011 he started 2DVW Architecten in Antwerp together with Rik De Vooght. In 2023, the agencies are given a new name. With the establishment of Woonwerk Architecten, the collaboration is given further shape. With Woonwerk, Johan works on projects at home and abroad.
Johan regularly teaches and has been, among others, a guest lecturer at Delft University of Technology, the Academy of Architecture in Rotterdam and the Fontys University of Applied Sciences in Tilburg. He was appointed associate professor of urban design at Kaunas University of Technology in 2015. Here he leads the design studios with a specific focus on the integral transformation of former soviet residential areas (microrayons). Johan De Wachter was selected in 2014 for the “Europe 40 Under 40 Award”. This award recognized Johan as one of the 40 leading young design talents from Europe.
In addition to his work as an architect and teacher, Johan regularly sits on various committees and juries in the Netherlands and abroad. He is currently a member of the spatial quality committee in Breda (NL) and of the environmental committee in Tilburg (NL).
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