- Area: 5000 m²
- Year: 2024
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Photographs:Stefan Steenkiste, Sebastian van Damme
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Manufacturers: HESS TIMBER
Text description provided by the architects. Both inspiring and principled, venue building Silt Middelkerke is an asset to the Belgian coast in several respects. With a great love of the sea and the dunes, this new eye-catcher combines coastal reinforcement, liveability and sustainability. The extraordinary design is a creation of architecture bureau ZJA and DELVA landscape architects, in collaboration with OZ and Bureau Bouwtechniek and a wealth of experts who together make up Bouwteam Nautilus.
Reinforcement of sea embankment and enhanced public space. The requirements for a new venue building, Silt in Middelkerke, encompassed a wide array of objectives. The design had to accommodate a reinforcement of the sea embankment, a plan to enhance the quality of the public space by removing car traffic and also unify the boulevard and the Epernay square.
A rejuvenating impulse. The center of Middelkerke needed a rejuvenating impulse to create conditions for living and visiting the coast that met the contemporary requirements and preferences of residents and tourists alike. This called for a new layout of Epernay Square, becoming a car-free zone thanks to the planned underground parking garage, and seeing its surface doubled in size. This connects it to the center and allows access by car while still giving most space to pedestrians and cyclists.
At least as important as the casino itself was the need for a multipurpose building, that could serve as a social and cultural meeting point for Middelkerke; a new living room for the town, to host conventions, exhibitions and concerts. On top of that, the development of a hotel right on the beach would stimulate tourism.
In collaboration with OZ, DELVA Landscape Architects, and Bureau Bouwtechniek, ZJA produced a design that excels in integrating the casino, the hotel, and the multipurpose hall into the characteristic West Flemish dune landscape. This had disappeared behind the dead straight sea embankment and the wall of buildings made out of bricks and concrete.
Reviving history. This project offered the opportunity to call to memory the history of Middelkerke as a thriving town on the medieval island of Testerep, halfway between Westende and Oostende. And so it does by creating a space in the center of town that creates a renewed relationship with the landscape of dunes, beaches and gullies. The Venue Building offers a contemporary way to experience the historic coastal landscape in the center of Middelkerke.
Public space. The sea embankment is reconstructed more towards the sea, creating extra space that offers an open view and breaking the monotony of the straight embankment. This allowed for the Epernay square to be extended by a high artificial dune, on top of which a green square with ponds and fountains arises. This results in a natural and attractive place to linger, with views of the sea and direct access to the beach.
A multifunctional building. The multipurpose hall, the restaurant and the casino are built into the dune, but all have transparent facades and spectacular views. Large terraces in front of the restaurant and the casino profit from this panorama. The heart of the hotel tower consists of a high lobby that gives access to the multipurpose hall, the restaurant and the casino. The Venue Building Middelkerke is a unique feature on the Flemish coast, in its confluence with the landscape and its sea view.
The dune and the eye-catcher. The artificial dune introduces the surrounding landscape and the gullies back into the center of town. This ‘landscraper’ combines a dune/square and the functions of the casino, multipurpose hall, and hotel with the open space of the beach. Inside and outside interact intensely on all levels. This design adapts to the landscape in a contemporary way, never becoming cheap or loud.
The hotel of five floors with a breakfast room on the sixth floor is a striking yet modest volume on the beach. It is an eye-catcher, but one that echoes the contained strength and austerity of the Flemish coastal landscape in its design. Its shape is simple but mysterious, referring to the shapes and colors from nature or the fishing port. The hardwood veil around the hotel will weather much like the wood in the quays, the doors of the locks, and the mooring posts. A sophisticated lighting design built into the facade highlights the wooden structure after sundown. By day and by night the hotel appears as a welcoming beacon, a sculpture with soft contours.
Sustainability Silt Middelkerke. The design minimizes the use of energy and material in the building process, but the choice for more efficient production processes and the application of recycled material also make this a sustainable design. Sustainability and environmental criteria are not an afterthought but of the same crucial order as safety, functionality, aesthetics, and economic value. The artificial dune and the awning part of it near the terraces of the hotel and the casino are an energy-saving element. By offering shadow in summer and insulation during the winter. The choice of wood, specifically cross-laminated timber, in the open casing around the hotel tower, saves enormous quantities of CO2, because it is a renewable and circular material.
What draws people to Middelkerke? Thanks to the parking garage underneath the dune, removing cars from the Epernay square and expanded public space towards the sea room has been created for what can safely be called a place of interest, a sight to be seen: the green dune-like square with ponds and fountains, leading to the beach. This is the experience that draws people to Middelkerke. The raw and open character of the sea is smoothly and invitingly fused with the landscape of beach and dune and entwined with the economic and cultural vital functions that give Middelkerke the reserved elegance that characterizes a contemporary seaside resort.
Client Silt Middelkerke: The municipality of Middelkerke. The Nautilus consortium is a collaboration between developer Debuild, chief designers ZJA (architecture) and DELVA (landscape architecture), OZ (casino and hotel design) and Bureau Bouwtechniek (execution architect), contractors TM Furnibo-Democo. They are assisted by experts from COBE, VK Engineering, Beersnielsen, Witteveen+Bos, Plantec, MINT and Sertius.
