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Lieven Dejaeghere creates affordable apartments inside
theclassrooms of an old Belgian school
Glass partitions divide up the interior spaces of apartments
created within a former school buildingin the Belgian city of
Izegem by local architect Lieven Dejaeghere (+ slideshow).
The Heilig Hartschool is located just west of the city centre
and was constructed in phases between1913 and 1937. It ceased
operating as a school in 2007 and Dejaeghere was commissioned by a
localsocial housing company to oversee its transformation into
affordable rental units.
The school's two main wings and gatehouse were restored and
repurposed to accommodate 17 one-bedroom apartments, with careful
attention paid to maintaining the building's original
appearance.
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"The school has a great historical value for the town and it is
very important to preserve thatsingularity," Dejaeghere told
Dezeen. "To conserve the authentic character and the
collectivememory of the school, the supporting walls, the door
openings and the roofs have been kept intact."
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Dejaeghere felt it was also important to retain the spatial
qualities of the building's interior, so eachapartment occupies
what was previously one of the classrooms.
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Glass partitions are used to separate each of the apartments
into a lounge and dining area, akitchen, a storage space and an
en-suite bedroom.
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"These walls provide both a physical and partly-visual
separation, but ensure that the originalclassroom remains palpable
and visible as a nicely proportioned space," the architect
added.
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The glass extends from floor to ceiling and incorporates sliding
doors that connect the differentrooms. The transparent surfaces
ensure that plenty of light reaches all the spaces, while
texturedpanels provide privacy where required.
Another reference to the building's heritage is provided by the
floor tiles, which feature colours andpatterns chosen to recall the
school's original floors.
Different colours were employed to differentiate the units on
either side of the site, with grey tilesused in the buildings on
the east side and brown on the west.
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In addition to the restoration aspect of the project, five new
two-bedroom terraced houses wereadded on the southeast side of the
site.
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The proportions and materials of the new buildings continue the
aesthetic language of the school,with red brick walls punctuated by
white-framed windows.
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A communal social space was also created in the area surrounded
by the properties. One section ispaved to recall the former
playground, while the rest has been turned into a green
parkincorporating trees and a small pond.
Every residence opens onto the sheltered park area, evoking the
way the school children werepreviously able to spill out from the
classrooms into the playground.
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Another former school in Belgium was turned into a temporary
hotel during last year's BiennaleInterieur event, when old
classrooms were used as bedrooms. The school building in Kortrijk -
set fordemolition - also hosted an exhibition about the changing
ideas of domesticity and a choreographedwaltz performed by robotic
vacuum cleaners.
Photography is by Tim Van de Velde.
Site plan - click for larger
image Floor plan - click forlarger image
Related story: Jonathan Dunn converts Victorian school house
into cinema for an English town
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A collection of old school buildings in Rye, East Sussex, has
been converted into a cinema and artscentre with the addition of a
shed-like extension (+ slideshow). More
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