Cadiz
Kattendijkdok - Oostkaai
Antwerp
Belgium
- META architectuurbureau
- Dirk Vandekerkhove Landschapsarchitecten
Jasper Leonard (c) Cores Development
TWO FACES
The task at hand was complex: to create a large number of residential units in a deep block, while ensuring that each individual home still had sufficient light and a view. At the same time, the project had to bring life to the new city district. The result is a remarkable block with a typology that is unprecedented in Belgium.
"Cadiz enters into a good relationship with its surroundings, and on different scales. On the scale of the city, the building block is visible from afar; on the scale of the neighbourhood, it is in a direct relationship with the square and its surrounding streets." – Niklaas Deboutte, architect-partner META architectuurbureau
Cadiz has two faces. From close by, at the street level, one can only see the plinth of the building facade with its stores. The dark plinth forms a contrast with the cantilevered claustra of the first and second floors. These white concrete façade elements screen the functions that lie behind from the street but, at the same time, provide transparency via the alternating recesses. They surround the block and unite it into a solid whole.
From the street, you can catch a glimpse of the communal inner garden. The entrances to the residential units are located here. This central zone, which is draped over the underground parking on the one hand, and the supermarket that runs from the façade plinth to the ground floors on the other, has a contoured landscape with birch trees and forest vegetation. A green ramp binds the communal inner area with the private gardens on the plinth, where the residents can enjoy views of the harbour and city in the distance.
From a distance, Cadiz offers a different and more monumental impression. Four towers are set further back from the building line, kneeling on the roof of the base with their feet in the garden of the inner courtyard, situated on a lower level. The typology of the existing warehouses on the Eilandje inspired the choice of materials used in the four living units, which were executed in brickwork and pre-cast concrete.
CITY IN THE CITY
The plan integrates different types of residential units: apartments, luxurious duplexes, studios and social housing. All residential units are equipped with terraces or roof terraces. The apartments in the towers benefit from balconies on all four sides, which are staggered so they receive the optimal amount of sunlight. Outdoor staircases link the rooftop terraces with the underlying sun terraces.
"The interweaving of the residential and other urban functions of the building creates a small city within a city."
