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For over 40 years, Free Clinic vzw has been focusing on the most vulnerable urban residents. Over the past decades, the organization has developed a specialized outpatient program for individuals facing severe dependence issues on illegal substances. Employing a harm reduction approach, various aspects of this complex problem are addressed.

In 2010, the existing building was expanded with a new volume, enveloped in corten steel.

A few years after the completion of the new building, the corten steel facade panels are at risk of detachment in numerous areas. A 2020 investigation revealed that the vertical wooden framework is aligned with the horizontal framework, and no rain screen was installed over the roof edge. As a result, the wooden framework has been compromised by moisture, leading to decay and fungal growth in multiple areas. Cracks and perforations have developed in the membranes. The insulation materials have been compromised, resulting in a loss of their insulating capability.

Optical illusions have been used in architecture ever since the Greeks started messing with the visual perception of proportion, lines and angles. Throughout millennia, artists and architects have teased and intrigued by making buildings and spaces appear different from what they actually are. The interior design of NYR Studio, a 50 square meter studio apartment located in the new harbour developments in Antwerp, is a contemporary twist on this phenomenon, also known as ‘trompe l’oeil’.

NYR Studio is part of the newly built waterfront project, New York Residence, on Kattendijkdok-Oostkaai, designed by the London architectural office, Sergison Bates. Situated on the ground floor, the studio is accessible through a green and lush inner courtyard. To comprise a living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and utility room, NYR Studio has relatively few square meters, a classic studio challenge in terms of space. Yet, what it does not offer in width, it offers in height. With a more than five-meter-high ceiling, the space was calling for an intervention, to somehow make use of the verticality and create a unified atmosphere.

The term ‘healthy building’ most commonly refers to tangible measures regarding a building’s indoor climate, energy use, green areas and construction materials. In the case of ‘RDS Community House’, a co-living project on the outskirts of Antwerp, all those aspects have been taken into consideration, but not only. Architecture should put a smile on your face, a welcoming and surprising visual impression also adds to the well-being of an environment.

With the bricks and façade elements all kept in one colour, a deep warm red, the building exudes unity and consistency. Yet, the monochromatic surface also allows for certain features to stand out graphically, such as the shape of the three-volume building, the windows and the façade design. The choice of unusual roof pitches, circular and half-circular windows and a unique brick pattern add a remarkable and cheerful expression, to be enjoyed both from the exterior and the interior of the building.

Despite perching 15 floors high, there is solid ground in this penthouse situated in a tower building conceived by Swiss architects Diener & Diener. With the entire 350 square meter flooring made from chunks of light brown local natural stone, the earth has been raised into the sky.

Upon opening the front door, one is met with an immediate panoramic view over the city of Antwerp, due to a sizable floor-to-ceiling window right opposite the door. Stepping inside the entrance only intensifies the sensory experience: except for the stone floor, the 25 square meter foyer is like a mirror box reflecting the city view endlessly. Distortion-free tempered mirrors and high-glossy painted surfaces are recurrent in the apartment which play with the feeling of space, reflection and perspective, on cupboards, sliding doors, room dividers – even on inside of the kitchen extractor hood.

The studio and office is located in the city centre of Antwerp. What used to be an engraver’s store and workshop has turned into an architectural studio with plenty of space and light for a comfortable and open working environment. The main floor plan and functionalities of the different spaces have largely been kept, positioning the most public room, the meeting room and library, towards the street. With big windows between all the rooms, from the street to the very back, the interior and work activities are held visible. A former closed off corridor dividing the offices and the workshop at the back has been brought to light and now serves as a luminous central patio and green space. Grand skylights arches over the workshop where model making and material testing are carried out.