living and working in green surrounds

living and working in green surrounds

Public
Tessenderlo 2019

Design of community center

egide Meertens architecten ontmoetingscentrum Tessenderlo

With this project for a versatile meeting centre, we respond to the opportunities which our changing work habits offer. The complex combines a private home with a mix of conference rooms, training rooms, and meeting rooms. The two functions meet each other at the level of the ground floor, but they are kept strictly separate from each other. On this level both entities are given their own space enveloped by the green surrounds from the different patios. 

 

The home presents itself peacefully and modestly on the street side with a carport and a floor level which lies back a long way. The incorporation of the carport means that the private home on this floor level seems to be floating. The meeting centre is given its own identity by means of wall cladding. This is constructed in such a way that it can slide open in front of the to conceal it from the surrounding area. The garden shed and front door are also located near the carport. This means that all functions which have an indoor-outdoor relation are grouped together ingeniously. 

Due to the strongly public character of the front zone, all living areas in the home face the back garden. They are arranged in an L-shape in which the living room with an office and dining room border on the open rear facade. The kitchen forms an extension of the dining room and thereby has a switch function between the pantry and living area. A patio with no access from the street provides the kitchen with daylight. 

This level has three bedrooms, a bathroom, and a guest room with its own wet room. A large window ensures a good view of the surrounds from the parental bed. The playrooms and guest room also have plenty of window. However, the fact that this floor lies well back prevents any unwanted glances from outdoors. 

 

Meeting and learning with a view

The versatile meeting complex takes the users on a journey of discovery as soon as they enter. The entrance zone lies on an entrance patio, which, like the carport, can be locked and is in the same material as the wall cladding. The reception desk is accessible sideways from the patio. And so, visitors start from the corner of the building on their path to their destination. The different rooms each have their own identity and atmosphere and have either a view of the surrounds or their own indoor patio. Office space for co-working adjoins a sitting area, separated from each other by the circulation axis.  

On this level the complex also offers some offices for staff annex conference rooms. Those rooms, too, have a sweeping view or a visual field from an indoor patio.