Sport- en klasruimte Campus Henleykaai

Bob McMaster architects and BEL architects joined forces to develop a multi-purpose sports complex at Henleykaai in Ghent. The existing school complex urgently required a better and larger sports infrastructure. The architects designed an all-embracing complex that includes a sports hall, new classrooms as well as a cafeteria and open learning centre. The design is aimed at multiple users. The new classrooms face the rest of the campus and the sports hall faces the water. They are separated by the cafeteria and learning centre. The building is given a more human dimension by alternating slanted concrete panels with shiny white tiled façades, large windows and an impressive overhang over the entrance. The large windows are repeated on the inside. The architects have created a number of interesting vistas between the classrooms, cafeteria and sports hall. There are not many sports halls with an architecture that surpasses the purely functional. The urban planning approach adopted by the architects, combined with refined details and extensive views, have turned this sports complex into a benchmark to follow.

This project was opened on the occasion of the 2019 Day of Architecture. The text is based on a contribution by Lisbeth Decloedt.