Den Draad, Gent (B).
Sustainable living in the park.
The ‘Den Draad’ project consists of two new residential buildings on a brownfield site. The buildings were positioned as a function of optimal and cost-effective soil decontamination. They constitute the point of transition between a residential area with continuous blocks and a public park. Despite the differences in form – caused by the surrounding conditions of the site – the buildings form a dyad. Both are typified by robust volumes which elegantly give way to a group of trees, a passageway, an incision which forms the entrance to an underground car park, etc. The cohesion is further reinforced by the resolute choice of materials. The repetitive concrete slab structure is enveloped with a partly prefabricated wooden outer shell. This enables us to combine high insulation values – to maintain the classification as a low-energy building – with extremely precise detailing and circular material use.
The horizontal linear elements in the building circumscribe the integrated outdoor spaces adjacent to the street, expanding to incorporate the exuberant terraces facing the park.Thus in one movement, a certain restraint is combined with an explicitly joyful appearance. One of the two buildings comprises an office space on the ground floor. Here, the ground floor consists of a solid concrete plinth which gives expression to the more public character of the underlying programme. The planks of the facade are also used in the formwork of the concrete of the plinth, ensuring a clear but subtle differentiation. The project carries a high sustainability ambition: alongside low-energy standards, it was also designed for maximum adaptability and durability over the course of its lifetime using NIBE-class-3-compliant materials or better.

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