Pension Van Schoonhoven
for BULK Architects - Antwerp, Belgium, 2021.
A shelter for the homeless.
In the centre of Antwerp near the station provides this pension a shelter for the homeless. The concept of being away from the streets was emphasized in several places of the building.
Giving a temporary place to stay implies that even for a short time, people should be able to be at ease and feel at home. Warm colours were applied to reduce a clinical feeling one might get in a standard carehome.
A roofgarden and inner patio give place to pleasant outdoor rooms.
Away from the streets. Roof garden for the homeless.
Roof fields.
The back part is defined by the Holy Heart Church, a neo-Romanesque design by Emile Goethals.
Play on. Recreation room next to the terrace for families and children who reside in the pension.
Sheltered. A look on the surrounding skyline of the city centre.
Patio for tranquility. A bird aviary gives some extra life in the garden where the daycare pavilion is located.
Historical cover. Pronounced entrance area as welcoming gesture as referal to adjacent mansions.
Piano Nobile. Living just a little bit above ground level means being away from the streets to get at ease.
Wadability. Having views on neighbouring floors grants generosity to a clinical, but warm and robust interior.
Composite House. Multiple houses form a larger mansions as common shelter.