The project occupies the interior of a historical city block where buildings from different identities and periods coexist. There are two industrial buildings and a convent that has been used as a hospital.

Project name: Architecture Faculty in Tournai
Clien: Catholic University of Louvain
Location: Tournai, Belgium
Date of project: 2014 – 2015
Date of construction: 2015 – 2017
Built area: 7 010 m²
Site area: 6 200 m²
Authors: Manuel Aires Mateus / Francisco Aires Mateus
Project leader: Jorge P Silva
Collaborators: Susana Rodrigues, Joana Carmo Simões, Vânia Fernandes, Sara Nobre, Sofia Paradela, Inês Gulbenkian, Bernardo Sousa, Isabel Sousa, Aiden Thornhill, Théophile Legrain, Antoine Pruvost, Charles Cossement
Engineering: Tradeco
Constructor: Tradeco

Architecture Faculty in Tournai By Aires Mateus - sheet5Architecture Faculty in Tournai By Aires Mateus - sheet6The new building is positioned in order to bond together each of these structures and to define new external spaces. All the existing buildings are connected vertically and horizontally throughout the block.

Inside, public functions are sheltered, like the foyer and auditorium, operating not only as passage spaces and meeting places, but also as a part of a new identity.

Author

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