In 1859, Antwerp was expanded to the National Reduit of Belgium. The agglomeration got a new wall consisting of eight forts designed by the Belgian officer Brialmont. Fort 5 is located in the municipality Edegem. The 35 acre area is divided into clusters by historical sightlines. Each section has a particular social, cultural or educational program assigned to which suits the immediate environment and nature. Important is the ecological value of each section and the potential to access and reuse the buildings. By hosting a variety of recreational functions the domain will become publicly accessible and more attractive to local residents, passersby, ... The possibility of daytrips and weekend-stays which can be experienced throughout the site, offers a considerable advantage.

My masterproject focuses on the reduit. To redefine the embedded reduit as an accessible building, a clear routing is instigated by floor patterns. The building offers multipurpose rooms, a restaurant and hotel for social life. The academy of art and music represents the educational life. For cultural life, temporary galleries, congress areas, workshops and a permanent exhibition on the history of the eight Brialmont forts are provided. New glass structures on the volume provide a maximum of natural light without damaging the closed shells. Because of the light glass-steal construction, the ‘boxes’ form the central landmark of the entire domain, during both day and night. The implementation of the underlying voids is chosen for maximum light. The building has a strict symmetry in the original floor plans which is subtly lifted by using staggered voids. To form a bridge between the military past and the cultural and social future, the reduit functions as the heart of the domain. In this way, the cultural and historical building redefines the former military domain and increases the readability of the site considerably.