Upoffiz | Upliving Ghent – Loop5

Project Name
Upoffiz | Upliving Ghent – Loop5
Function
Office-like and short-stay residential buildings
Surface
Office-like: approx. 18.500m² Short-stay residential buildings: approx. 5.000m² Parking: approx. 15.000m² GFA
Location
The Loop, Veld 5 west, Gent
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concept

Loop Veld 5 West is an all-in-one project realised on behalf of Upgrade Estate. The project comprises a unique building complex, consisting of four buildings on top of a pedestal with a ground floor and underground car park. The buildings will be used primarily for office-like enterprises and short-term residential purposes.

Project Description

The entire project aims to exude a style in which buildings and outdoor areas are fully integrated and merge imperceptibly into their surroundings and the existing fabric.

The project will finally give the currently undeveloped elongated terrain of approximately 1.5 hectares, located in 9000 Ghent along Amelia Earhartlaan, a clear purpose. A new piece of the puzzle will correspondingly be laid on the northern edge of the urban development area of The Loop.

Located a mere stone’s throw away from Ghent’s Sint-Pieters railway station (1.7 km by bicycle) and close to the access ramps to the E40 motorway and the R4 outer ring road, the site is easily accessible for all modes of transport. It is an ideal base for approximately 18,500 m² of office-like floor space to be realised, 5,000 m² of short-stay residential buildings and an impressive parking hub with more than 500 bicycle parking spaces and almost 500 car parking spaces.

Four buildings will be arranged in a honeycomb pattern within the landscape. The ordered, yet seemingly playful embedding of the structures in the surrounding environment comprises a transition between the organic appeal of Field 01 located opposite the area, and the more urban appeal of the Loop’s core area.

The idea of connection, interweaving or entwining comprises the foundation of the honeycomb pattern in which the structures are embedded.

The structure and shape of the buildings are derived directly from the hexagons in the honeycomb pattern. These varying ‘polyhedra’ and derived shapes all speak the same visual language. Through their geometry, they enter into a dialogue with each other and with the surrounding buildings.

The office-like structures have rounded soft corners, while the residential building is subtly distinguished by its right angles. The faceted surfaces comprising the façades of the hexagonal building structures cause them to subtly change colour in a natural way. This idea is reinforced by providing the façades with a glazed ceramic finish. The glazed surface also serves as a nod to the ‘Het Licht’ building (designed by F. Brunfaut and where the Vooruit daily newspaper was once printed) which is an integral part of the principal’s heritage.

The two buildings at the far ends of the site contain modern office-like storeys. The spacious, high, open plateaus allow the areas, in their varying shapes and sizes, to be used in a flexible manner. All types of office-like enterprises can be established here, ranging from manufacturing companies to meeting hubs or more traditional office spaces with flexible workstations.

Centrally located between these structures are two other buildings: a residential structure and a multifunctional meeting hub.

Due to its situation in the surrounding environment, the residential structure comprises a functional cluster with two, already existing, kidney-shaped residential buildings across the street on A. Earhartlaan. Arranging the residential buildings centrally in a cluster also creates a social, safe and lively residential environment at night.

The meeting hub is the smallest structure. It is no coincidence that it is located in the middle of the site. It is, after all, a central meeting place. The building contains an auditorium that seats approximately 200 plus a reception area.

A storey dedicated to logistics is concealed on the ground floor that connects all the buildings in both a functional and technical manner. A lush landscape garden will be created partly on the roof of this logistic floor and partly on the roof of the underground car park. This landscape is an important part of the project. The landscaping is in the hands of BASTA.

Connecting will also be a key element here. The landscaped garden serves as the green foundation of the entire project. Not only does it have a connecting role; it brings the functional programme outside, both figuratively and literally Employees, residents and visitors are given access to a green environment, provided with functional aspects that enable the occupants to work, stay and relax in a green outdoor environment.