The Rozemaai neighbourhood – located between Antwerp and Ekeren – was in need of a thorough renewal. The area was characterised by a large-scale urbanity in which the user seemed to be completely abstracted. Bringing about the change the neighbourhood required, we had to take an opposite approach. Instead of drafting a masterplan that unfolded above people's heads, the individual resident and their unit became the fundamental starting point.
site plan
ground floor plan
typical floor plan
A
high-quality residential unit with sufficient light, views, space, social
control and privacy was drawn up. By stacking and connecting, a compact
residential ribbon is created that then folds up around a communal patio. This
same shape is tripled and reoriented, then spread across the site. Parking is
also provided at the edge of the domain. A different kind of urbanity emerges:
between the volumes – 167 units in total – a generous and continuous ground
level stretches out. As a result, Rozemaai is something between a city and
landscape.
Program: 167 residential units, day-care centre and a commercial space
Location: Ekeren
Procedure: Competition
Client: Woonhaven Antwerpen
Surface: 11.630 m²
Structural engineer: Sileghem & Partners
Technical engineer: Sweco Belgium (Boydens)