Royal Orthopedagogic Center Antwerp
Markant Architecten
Photos: Markant Architecten
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Status:
Realized
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Education type:
Free Subsidised Education
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Education level:
Special Primary Education
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Address:
Rudolfstraat 40, 2018 Antwerp
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Client:
vzw. KOCA (Royal Orthopedagogic Center Antwerp)
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Programme:
Classrooms, therapy rooms, multifunctional hall, cafeteria, parking, sportshall
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Area:
13.000 m2
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Number of classrooms:
50 classrooms
32 therapyrooms
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Completion:
2008
Former coffee factory to become primary school
The Rombouts coffee factory, located in the Antwerp Zuid district, was vacant at the time when the non-profit organisation KOCA, which provides assistance to children with hearing, language and learning disabilities or autism, took the initiative to organise an architectural competition for the renovation of the factory into a school building. The former complex of buildings was 13,000 square metres in size, one third of which consisted of office space, situated between two parallel residential streets. The young architects of Markant succeeded, without building any additional structures, in integrating the 50 classrooms and 32 therapy rooms, which the school needed, into the existing buildings. In addition, they provided two gymnasiums, a large refectory, the administration office, the teachers’ room and the necessary play areas and sanitary facilities. The school also gratefully uses the available cinema and the underground parking area.
The main building in the Rudolfstraat, which is 26 m deep and reaches until the border of the plot at the back, had to be provided with light and air through the construction of light shafts, skylights and empty spaces in the corridors. The concrete frame of the building was preserved in the interior. Due to the given structure, many of the classrooms are very deep, which is an asset for this special type of education, since it allows the rooms to be divided into a teaching part close to the window and a living part on the side of the corridor. On the ground floor as well one can still clearly see the loading and unloading platform in the refectory. Only the entrance gates were replaced by windows.
Furthermore, only a limited number of additions have been made: a school wall and a covered gate at the Solvijnsstraat as daily entrance for the children who, after travelling here by bus, start their school day on the playground. One of the rear buildings was completely dismantled to serve as a two-floor covered play area. Below this, a new set of stairs was constructed to provide easy access to the existing staircase and from there to the classrooms. One of the lift shafts was preserved and makes the complex accessible for wheelchair users, albeit via a separate entrance. In the covered passage from the Rudolfstraat a new entrance was made with a set of stairs leading to the reception and a bicycle ramp to the partially underground basement. The teachers’ room was strategically laid out, providing a view of the entrance and playground. One of the storage warehouses was transformed into a double gymnasium.
In order to be able to realise the renovation at a unit price of 613 €/square metre, demolitions were kept at a minimum and the greatest possible re-use was made of the old factory. Also, simple materials were applied, such as unfinished woodwool cement slabs as an acoustically silencing ceiling finish. The renovation strikes a good balance between the extremely compact surface area and sufficient pleasant open space for the school. Together with the renovated office complex “Den Bell”, where the city administration has recently taken up residence, this project contributes to sustainable urban development.