Van Schoonhoven hostel
The homeless are a vulnerable group, which makes designing a hostel for them a complicated task. Cities are not always proud of such facilities and tend to house them in unsightly buildings that, above all else, dispel the impression that the residents are pampered. The term ‘hostel’ (pension) refers primarily to what it should not be: it must not seem like a hotel or home, but not like a hospital either. It is to the especial credit of BULK architecten that they have been able to transform this sensitive assignment into something which, in their view, it had to be: a place that says ‘welcome’. This was achieved, as they themselves say, by optimal collaboration with the client and the contractor. First and foremost, the building makes a gesture towards the city of Antwerp. (- Eireen Schreurs)
Van Schoonhoven is published in the Flanders Architectural Review N°14. When attitudes Take Form and is part of the Flanders Architecture Institute's online database.
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