Universiteit Hasselt

From the outside, one cannot immediately grasp the dimensions of the monolithic building clad in yellow concrete. The scale of the 6,600m2 plot is broken by an ensemble of three volumes: the entrance can be found in the lowest three-storey block while the other buildings respond by stepping backwards and accommodating the successive addition of a floor. NoA architects from Brussels are known for their focus on details and finishes. Their task here was to realise a practical building that could accommodate classrooms and research offices. The classrooms provide the basic needs for lectures and are equipped with standard school furniture and blackboards. The communal spaces are left untreated: bare concrete floors and ceilings stretch in every direction with wooden doors providing the only accent in otherwise plain, red brick walls. Aluminium profiles suspended from the ceiling carry fluorescent lamps and cables. Their X-shaped structure offers a singular gesture towards ornament. The adjacent gravel-covered roof terraces look out over the rest of the complex and the city of Hasselt.

The assignment was awarded to noA in 1998 via an open call competition. Hasselt University sought to build a city campus for the Law Faculty and, in order to do so, was not only given the prison building, but also the two adjoining sites. The old prison was to be renovated and integrated. NoA added three volumes between the four wings of the panopticon prison building. Two of these serve as auditoria and have been inserted between the wings with great precision. By pushing the third volume to the tips of the wings, a patio is created that provides a pleasant outdoor space for the cafeteria in this building block. Inside the prison, noA employs subtle colour differences, patterns, and materials to sometimes reflect, and sometimes obscure, the building’s history. The results are mixed.

The symbolism inherent in the conversion of a former ‘container’ for lawbreakers into a school for future defenders of the law always risked tipping into heavy-handed literalism. Ultimately, it is the new building that carries the greater symbolic charge – its calm rationality providing an altogether suitable environment for an education in law.

Author: Asli çiçek. This text has been published in the Architecture Review Flanders N°11. Embedded Architecture.