Provinciehuis
The new administrative building for the Province of Antwerp is a striking presence on the urban skyline. It self-confidently takes its place alongside the other high, monumental buildings in the city, including the Cathedral of Our Lady, the Boerentoren, the Oudaan, the MAS – Museum aan de Stroom and the spectacular Havenhuis (Port Authority Building). This office building is in the centre of the city, has fourteen floors and is just short of 58 metres high. The topmost storeys tower like a lantern – or a city crown – above the residential fabric. In profile, this monochrome white volume defies gravity.
This remarkable new building, with its 683 triangular windows and gleaming façade, stands on the site of the old provincial building on Koningin Elisabethlei. The original complex consisted of a representative front building and a frugal office complex that was set down in the existing street block with a certain brutality. The present design is the outcome of two rounds of the Open Call procedure. The first competition was halted because there had been a lack of clarity about the future of the provincial level of administration in 2008, as well as disagreement in the provincial council about the worthiness of the front building. Following a new efficiency drive, which took account of the cost of external rental charges and the property value of the province’s own building stock, the conservation of the provincial art collection and the lack of multipurpose conference spaces, a second competition was held, which was ultimately won by Xaveer De Geyter Architects.
Not only is this compact, twisting tower a new landmark, but the provincial council has also resolutely opted for efficiency, sustainability and high-quality public space. The building is energy neutral. Geothermal energy eliminates the need to burn fossil fuels. Both the sun-shielding and the heating system are incorporated into the structure of the building. It displays the ingenuity of the team of architects, which combines design skill with multidisciplinary expertise and technical innovation. The compact stacking and well-considered positioning leaves a large part of the site free for a new provincial park. Together with Harmonie Park and Koning Albert Park, the now accessible provincial garden forms a new green lobe in the city. The old trees that have been preserved are supplemented by shrubbery and low bushes. This garden provides a safe route between Harmoniestraat and Koningin Elisabethlei for pedestrians and cyclists.
The tower contains two representative upper stories for the council members, open-plan office floors and various types of workstation, a library and, in the volume below the tower, several semi-public facilities including a restaurant and a spacious roof terrace, as well as the provincial council chamber and an auditorium, both of which can be rented for congresses. In the lobby, which is open to the public, temporary displays of the provincial art collection are shown in a setting by Nico Dockx.
For a building on this scale, the degree of finish is exceptionally high. The details are extremely refined. The consistent and strictly controlled range of materials is as fragile as it is exquisite: white leather, aluminium floors, almost fluorescent green carpet, particles of glass in white concrete – and is reminiscent of the post-war offices designed by Jules Wabbes, the luxurious minimalism of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and the wilful range of ‘dirty’ materials used by De Geyter’s teacher, Rem Koolhaas.
The unusual interior design, the characteristic outline and the triangular windows that multiply the logo of the province in a repetitive pattern lend a forceful iconic quality to this new headquarters for the provincial administrators.
- Maarten Van Den Driessche
This project is published in Flanders Architectural Review N°14. When Attitudes Take Form
