Renovation School, Antwerp, 2018-2021

The city of Antwerp wants to make an major overhaul in the area of educational infrastructure in the coming years. That is the first phase of a general plan for educational infrastructure 2007-2025. This plan will translate the content of contemporary educational policies to a modern-day competitive school infrastructure
IEA was selected by the Antwerp bouwmeester to implement the reorganization of the historic boys and girls school in the Jozef Balstraat and the complete renovation the outer shell. Over a number of decades, the existing school underwent a series of transformations and closures. Because of these adjustments, the school became highly fragmented and lost its spatial quality. Through the strategy of 'de-pitting', the relocation of a number of programs and the introduction of clear use of color, IEA introduces a new cohesion and organization for the school. This strategy is spatially translated through the method of a consistent repetition of architectural elements such as: absolute plinth, consistent use of color, consistent ceilings and new spatial relations.
Gedurende een aantal decennia werd de bestaande school een aantal keer getransformeerd en verdicht. Door deze aanpassingen werd de school sterk gefragmenteerd en verloor zij elke ruimtelijke kwaliteit.