Friendship, Antwerp (B).
Six residential buildings around a sheltered city garden.
The Friendship site is a special place in the urban fabric of the City of Antwerp, also from a historical perspective. It is here that the bend of the Schelde will be deployed to the west and the current port. This prominent position and the associated significance form the basis for an ambitious new building block. The section of the new project therefore starts from the position at the intersection between quay and dock, between Scheldebocht and Eilandje.
Urban design understands the site as a part of the city, a ford made up of closely related buildings with different scales. Further on, the urban grain works on the existing patterns of streets, alleys and articulated corners that determine the character of the neighborhood on Het Eilandje.
Six buildings with a rich and varied range of apartments, duplexes and ground-based housing typologies surround a green courtyard. Three lower buildings form the edges to Sint-Laureiskaai, Bataviastraat and Amsterdamstraat. These are interrupted by three larger accents that relate to the surrounding context of the MAS and the Westkaai towers. At the center is a taller tower that becomes an urban marker on the scale of the city and forms an accent at the end of the quays.
Together, the buildings form a set of elements with different scales, each providing an appropriate response to the different contexts to which they refer.
A collective, green garden is being formed in the center of this new urban block. Located on the open ground, it is possible to create a green environment with mature trees and generous greenery. The garden is a lazy environment that is a counterweight and focal point for the surrounding development. At both ends, there are public crossings that provide informal access.
The city block also includes the new petrol station. This can be read as a coherent urban element that is integrated into the basic shape of the building block.
For the outside of the building block, maximum effort is made to ensure the all-sided character of the buildings with a lively plinth. In addition, the main addresses are always oriented to the surrounding public space and bundled as much as possible to make the commercial space as optimal and flexible as possible. This not only creates maximum opportunities for a high-quality skirting board, but also guarantees generous entrances, with a view of the courtyard from the entrance hall at all times. The plinth is where urban life meets the living environment and facilities at the Friendship site. So we have taken great care in the all-round quality and detailing of the interaction between the buildings and the surrounding public space.
Images/videos are always set to 4 or 6 columns wide.
Within a 'Project', two additional sizes are used:
- Full-screen image (all columns)
- Carousel (8 columns)
A maximum of 2 images or videos can be on the same row, with at least 1 column of space between them.
'Panels' always accompany corresponding content and never stand alone.
Only one 'Panel' can be attached to each row.
The urban design results in a fordable building block, formed by closely related buildings with different scales. This is where we distinguish edges and corner pieces. Six buildings with a varied range of apartments, duplexes and ground-level homes line the perimeter, around a naturally landscaped garden at the heart.
.avif)
.avif)
.avif)
