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Budafabriek, Belgium : Buda Art Centre

Textile Factory Building Redevelopment – design by 51N4E, architects

12 Feb 2013

Buda Art Centre

Budafabriek

Design: 51N4E

The last remaining textile factory on Buda Island – an area destined to become the cultural heart of the city – has been transformed into a number of multifunctional spaces. This large volume of 4.240m² on a site of 3.900m², situated in the middle of a city block, has been adapted through two main interventions:

photos : Filip Dujardin

The first hollows out a large void in the center of the building, bringing daylight deep into the vast floor plan. This pentagonal void houses a public staircase that gives access to a diverse range of spaces on four levels: a laboratory for manufacturing, multifunctional spaces of varying sizes and lighting conditions, music venues and a roof terrace. The biggest part of the structure is reused. Besides saving resources, the reuse allows for a large cultural building within a limited budget.

The second intervention adds an open pavilion as an entrance hall from the street. Built from the yellow brick discovered in the original interior, this pavilion becomes the new facade of the complex: the tip of the iceberg. The pavilion itself functions as an antechamber, giving a foretaste of events inside.

The Buda Art Centre is a new type of cultural space. Making reference to its past, it remains a workshop of production. The materials and details make it an approachable space for all kinds of activities and users. The warm palette of colours and the series of rather informal spaces invite people to appropriate and discover the building for their own production, exhibition, and casual interaction. While the majority of the building is hidden from its surrounding context, the roof terrace provides a sudden confrontation with the city of Kortrijk. The building is a tool to look, not an object to look at; it avoids becoming an image but instead creates an environment.

photos : Paul Steinbueck

Budafabriek – Building Information

Office / Architect: 51N4E / Johan Anrys, Peter Swinnen, Freek Persyn
COLLABORADORS: Peter Depoorter, Dirk Jaspaert
CITYCOUNTRY KORTRIJK / BELGIUM
Programme: CULTURAL
Placement: NOMINEE

Buda Art Centre images / information from 51N4E

51N4E architects

Location:Buda, Kortrijk, Belgium