The project for ‘De Brug’ entails the reorganisation and extension of a university site in the centre of Ghent, which comprises multiple interventions and sub-projects: the student restaurant, offices for the university staff, a student center, a public square and a bike parking. Forming an architectural chain of buildings and open spaces, the site extends towards the lower bank of the Schelde river.
The first phase of the project ‘De Brug’ focuses on the existing student restaurant and the two mansions it was hiding behind.
site plan
The existing restaurant manifested itself as an encapsulated annex, with no sign of its presence towards the public domain. Order had to be created out of the existing chaos. The circulation was therefore simplified and clarified. A new volume - the new general entrance of the restaurant - today marks the corner of the (future) student square. Its facade, through its proportionality and considerate articulation, seeks to connect with its immediate neighbours.
© DBLV
ground floor plan
© DBLV
© DBLV
first floor plan
The restoration works on the mansion located at Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 45 included remodelling the interiors, rehabilitating their generous spatiality and stabilising the existing monumental staircase. Because of the new-found order inside the building block, daylight now maximally enters the offices inside and a space also opened up for a terrace and collective garden. The restaurant and its new extension on the public domain are carefully connected and intertwined with the renovated office building, ensuring full accessibility and maximum efficiency.
second floor plan
Program: student restaurant and offices
Location: Ghent
Procedure: competition
Client: Ghent University
Surface: 9.931 m²
Landscape design: Kris Coremans (ssa/xx)
Structural engineer: Sileghem & Partners
Technical engineer: Boydens Engineering
Acoustical engineer: Daidalos-Peutz
Photography: Filip Dujardin