Architects:Aires Mateus

Area:7010m²

Year:2017

Photographs:Tim Van de Velde

Manufacturers:OTIIMA

Engineering:Tradeco

Constructor:Tradeco

Authors:Manuel Aires Mateus, Francisco Aires Mateus

Project Leader:Jorge P Silva

Collaborators:Susana Rodrigues, Joana Carmo Simões, Vânia Fernandes, Sara Nobre, Sofia Paradela, Inês Gulbenkian, Bernardo Sousa Isabel Sousa, Aiden Thornhill, Théophile Legrain, Antoine Pruvost, Charles Cossement

Client:Université Catholique de Louvain

City:Tournai

Country:Belgium

Text description provided by the architects. The project occupies the interior of a historical city block where buildings from different identities and periods coexist. There are two industrial buildings and a convent that has been used as a hospital. The new building is positioned in order to bond together each of these structures and to define new external spaces.

All the existing buildings are connected vertically and horizontally throughout the block. Inside, public functions are sheltered, like the foyer and auditorium, operating not only as passage spaces and meeting places but also as a part of a new identity.

Project gallery

Project location

Address:Tournai, Belgium