Apartments Arsenaalstraat Antwerp

The project is located in the Sint-Andries neighbourhood between Antwerp city centre and the Zuid. The Arsenaalstraat is one of the streets that connects the Kloosterstraat with the Kaaien [quays]. A new project comprising a ground floor commercial space and four apartments, one of which is a duplex, will be built on a 6.9-metre-wide plot with a limited depth of 12.7 metres.

The project harmonises with the existing environment, but also adds something of its own. Inspiration for the materials was sought in the surroundings: the red brick is complemented by tone-on-tone red concrete, the black aluminium joinery disappears visually so that the emphasis is placed on the mass of the façade. Several details, such as a difference in roughness of the masonry or the various depths of the window reveals, create a sense of refinement.

For heritage conservation reasons, the neighbouring volume cannot be raised any higher. The side walls are not provisional façades, therefore, and remain visible. They are considered to be fully-fledged structures and elaborated as such.