Architect：ZJA;OZ Architect

Location：Zeedijk 116z, Middelkerke, Belgium; | ;View Map

Project Year：2024

Category：Coasts;Casinos;Hotels

Both captivating and sincere, the event venue SILT is an asset to the Flemish coast in many ways. With great love for the sea and dunes, the new landmark combines coastal reinforcement, landscape, livability, and sustainability.

The designers have anchored the building to the site by integrating it into a new experiential landscape inspired by the former island of Testerep, characterized by dunes (coastal defence) and tidal channels (prosperity). The fusion of the building into the landscape ensures that coastal reinforcement, livability, and sustainability harmonize with the existing coastline. In the heart of the landscape, the hotel tower manifests itself as a new beacon by the sea. SILT also houses a casino, a restaurant, a multifunctional event space, and an underground parking garage.

Steven Delva, founder and partner at DELVA:

An underground parking garage creates a car-free zone, allowing the public space above it to flourish. Marram grass, dune bowls, and sand channels that lead to the beach give Middelkerke back its characteristic landscape. The climb to the top of the new dune offers breathtaking views and is itself a tourist attraction.

The design team implemented a high-quality integral concept to firmly embed the project within the site's spatial, social, and economic characteristics. Rather than a standalone and inward-facing structure, it is a building seamlessly integrated into the landscape, establishing a sustainable connection with its surroundings in all aspects.

Reinald Top, partner and architect at ZJA, says:

The hotel, connected to the event venue, adorns the coastline with its mysterious, sculptural silhouette. An understated, striking building with an open lattice of curved beams made of Accoya wood. This not only enhances the connection with the surroundings but also represents sustainability. Because just like safety, functionality, aesthetics, and economic value, sustainability is central to the design. The aim was to achieve optimal energy supply, waste management, and production processes.

SILT received a new seawall capable of withstanding a 1000-year storm. The seawall will withstand extreme storm weather with exceptionally high waves and water levels more than two meters above the current high tide level, making SILT the best-protected place along the Belgian coast.

SILT radiates strength, sobriety, and refinement, with a great love for the sea and dunes. It is a project that well reflects the character of the seaside resort. It could mark the start of a renewed centre of Middelkerke, where it is pleasant to live and stay.

Jean-Marie Dedecker, mayor of Middelkerke, is particularly proud of the new landmark in his municipality:

The project was constructed at an exceptionally rapid pace. In February 2022, the construction team began excavating the immense construction pit. Just two years later, the building was completed, a testament to the close collaboration and dedication of all involved parties.

Guy De Meyer (project manager of delegated construction manager Debuild):

In 2022, SILT Middelkerke received the prestigious International Architecture Award 2022. In 2023, SILT once again received recognition and won a World Landscape Award of Honour in the category 'Concept—Large Design.'

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