Campus model as an ecosystem

Thomas More has positioned itself as a university college that is innovative and future-oriented, with a strong focus on technology and ecology. The campus in Geel reflects this vision, and the assignment for the new gateway building is a step towards creating a structure that embodies these core values: innovation, circularity, and future resilience.

LAVA architecten have long been engaged in circular construction, with experience in material reuse and disassembly. This approach has been successfully applied in previous projects and forms the foundation for the gateway building on the Thomas More campus. The project presents an opportunity to further explore and implement circular construction and is considered a pilot project within the Green Deal Circular Construction, in which Thomas More also participates.

For the design, LAVA draws inspiration from the artistic language of minimalist Sol LeWitt, using a simple base module that is repeated and adapted to create various spatial configurations. This systematic approach offers flexibility and allows the building to adapt to changing needs without losing its architectural identity. The spatial module of the building is seen as a kind of architectural grammar that can be applied repeatedly.

The structure of the building is designed with future resilience in mind. The foundations and structural elements are dimensioned to allow for expansions and changes in functionality. The construction uses dry connections, enabling the building to be easily dismantled at the end of its lifecycle.

 

competition design 2018

Additional images

Back to Lab

We use cookies or similar technologies (e.g. pixels or social media plug-ins) to optimise your user experience on our website, among other things. In addition, we wish to use analytical and marketing cookies to personalise your visit to our website, to send targeted advertisements to you, and to give us more insight into your use of our website.

Do you consent to our use of cookies for an optimal website experience, so that we can improve our website and surprise you with advertisements? Then confirm with ‘OK’.

Conversely, would you like to set specific preferences for different types of cookies? This can be done via our Cookie Policy. Would you like more information about our use of cookies or how to delete cookies? Please read our Cookie Policy.