Minnewater, Brugge (B).
Historic almshouse becomes the Bruges Residents' House.
Project Minnewater involves the restoration and repurposing of the protected Neo-Gothic hospital (1880–1892), designed by architect L. Delacenserie. The monument is being transformed into the 'House of the Bruges Citizen', where all public services – from front office to back office – will be centrally housed. The current site is layered, with additions from the 1930s and 1980s. While the extensions from the 1930s respect the original design, the interventions from the 1980s represent a stylistic break. The project aims to restore architectural unity.
Our design restores the historical essence by demolishing the 1980s extensions, re-establishing the crucial relationship between Delacenserie's architecture and the surrounding gardens. The walled garden along the Vesten will become publicly accessible and connected to the station area through new openings in the garden wall. Internally, the original spatial structure will be restored, while a second main entrance will be created on the garden side within a distinctive new reception pavilion. The historical facades will be restored and, where necessary, 'healed' with an abstract interpretation of the original. Simultaneously, the monument will be made sustainable; an advanced system featuring a geothermal field and heat pumps will provide autonomous energy to both this complex and the nearby Beguinage.
These interventions will open up the former guesthouse and make it easily accessible for a wide range of services to the residents of Bruges. We are adding a new layer to the building's history. Nuanced, yet legible, a continuation of what came before.
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Project Minnewater involves the restoration and repurposing of the protected Neo-Gothic guesthouse (1880–1892), designed by L. Delacenserie. The current site is layered, with additions from the 1930s and 1980s.
While the extensions from the 1930s respect the original design, the alterations from the 1980s represent a stylistic break. The project aims to restore architectural unity.
The new entrance portal will be added on the garden side, and will serve as a recognizable landmark there.
This will feature a distinctly contemporary material palette, where the formal language and level of detailing refer to the original architecture.
Each facade element undergoes a meticulous analysis.
Depending on both the nature of the original material and contemporary functional requirements, a specific and tailored solution is proposed for each segment.
There are two strategies: pure restoration and comprehensive intervention as a contemporary interpretation of the original.
