Aluminium sheets perforated with a geometric pattern produce angled facets about the windows of this university student centre in Kortrijk .
Vives University University is located to the south of the Belgian city. The new building accommodates offices and other amenities for the student assistance workers, which had previously been situated in the principal block.
Instead of designing a entirely new framework, local studio AVDK was asked to restore and lengthen the former offices of a missionary organisation to minimise the value of the venture.
But the university also desired the building to act as a landmark due its place at the entrance to the campus, so the architects produced a bold folded facade of gold-coloured aluminium.
“They wished it to be a prominent developing but we did not want it to be as well expressive,” architect Andie Decock advised Dezeen. “It’s nonetheless prominent due to its materialisation which is unseen in the street.”
Every of the angled reveals frames a single window, so the building’s internal layout is articulated via its external form.
A geometric pattern punched into the aluminium panels gives the surfaces an intricate texture – comparable to a recent workplace extension in Sweden and a waste incinerator in Denmark.
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At close selection, the diamond-shaped holes tesselate to produce the illusion of thousands of tiny cubes.
“We desired to give the rigidness of the framework of the facade a lightness by implies of the perforations, which are a neutral layout primarily based on a cube,” Decock extra.
“The anodised aluminium can make it more powerful since of its reflective and shiny character.”
An entrance is incorporated into the facade that extends along a pathway leading towards the rest of the campus. This facade also features recessed windows and a massive tv display framed in 1 corner.
Within, the building’s ground floor accommodates a double-height reception room, areas for social providers and a workers canteen. These services are primarily housed in current rooms towards the front of the constructing, with an extension at the rear containing offices.
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A circular area that was previously employed as a chapel for the missionary organisation was retained and transformed into a meeting space. Radial fins integrated into the ceiling to boost acoustics in the chapel remain intact and are enhanced by additional acoustic baffles.
The architects inserted a glass-sided courtyard among the outdated and new sections of the constructing, bringing natural light deep into the interior.
Staircases positioned next to this courtyard and in the principal reception spot ascend to the very first floor, in which there are a lot more offices, a lounge and a second meeting area.
The elevation – from which the drum-shaped chapel extends into a private garden – is clad in wood that offers a warm and organic contrast to the aluminium.
Photography is by Dennis de Smet.
Ground floor plan 
Initial floor prepare Dezeen
