Forming a community in the heart of Anderlecht

  • Project:

    Community centre De Rinck

  • Client:

    Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie

  • Projectcode:

    0808RIN

  • Designer:

    LAVA architecten

  • Site:

    Dapperheidsplein, Anderlecht

  • Structural engineering:

    UTIL studiebureau

  • Technical systems:

    IRS studiebureau

  • EPB:

    Macobo

  • Acoustics:

    Daidalos-Peutz

  • Photography:

    Steven Massart / Toon Grobet

Located on the Place de la Vaillance, the Community Centre De Rinck profiles itself as a social engine: during activities such as Tournée General, the Annual Fair and, among others, the Saint Guido festivities, De Rinck organises and facilitates the festivities.

The historical ensemble of the square serves as the starting point for this transformation. Behind the neo-Gothic façade, the newly built building houses the administrative functions. This new brick volume also forms the new entrance to the Centre: from the square, the new inner street develops here, linking the various functions of the centre. By splitting, stacking and shifting the center functions, the GC appears at the scale of the environment.

The historical inn De Swane, on the corner of the square and the Kapittelstraatje, is being restored to its 19th-century appearance. This corner will become the new tavern of the GC, located on the square. The façade is whitewashed again, according to the historical model and in contrast with the mannerist square façades and the new brick volumes.

The various halls and rooms of the Community Centre are centralised in compact brick volumes, between which corridors, stairs, courtyards and terraces run as meeting areas, buffer and exhibition spaces. The inner street also functions as a reception and connects the adjacent theatre hall of the Academy of Fine Arts to the GC.

The brick volumes alternate with outdoor rooms that function as inner gardens, the roof becomes a terrace and the Dapperheidsplein becomes the front garden. The GC thus forms a self-functioning ensemble, which enters into a relationship with the existing fabric in both the architectural and urban planning dimensions.

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