Students of the Product Development programme at UAntwerp started the second semester of academic year 2022-2023 in a different setting. The historical education site of the former Stedelijke Nijverheidsschool became their home base. After four years of hard work, teaching was once again possible at the Paardenmarkt.
There has been educational activity on the Paardenmarkt since 1558. That year, the city built the Knechtjeshuis there, an orphanage for boys, who were also educated there. The orphans found shelter in the Knechtjeshuis until 1891. The site only grew: in the twentieth century, the Stedelijke Nijverheidsschool became into a household name far beyond Antwerp. Industrial engineers were also schooled there, but after that, educational activities were put on hold.
Understandable, as construction workers took over for four years, starting in 2019. ‘The university entered into a 40-year ground lease agreement with the city,’ explains general manager Bart Heijnen. ‘The Paardenmarkt is the new home base for our booming Product Development programme. The students were previously housed in the Ambtmanstraat, also on the Stadscampus, but the programme was struggling due to lack of space there.’
The Knechtjeshuis, dating from 1558, was completely renovated.
Multiple passages
The design by DMT architecten/Maatwerk focuses on accessibility and connection. The project consisted of two parts: for part one, centred at the Knechtjeshuis, the historic building on Paardenmarkt 94, the focus was on conservation and restoration of the building, in consultation with the Onroerend Erfgoed (immovable heritage) department of the city of Antwerp, and in part two, a new future was outlined for the inside of the buildings. The architects combined the renovation of existing parts with the introduction of new elements. ‘The building ons this site all used to be separate, but we covered them with a glass roof, so they now form a beautiful whole,’ says Maddie De Pauw (Infrastructure Department).
The architects connected the existing buildings. The historic basement became a large bicycle parking space.
‘Thanks to the new passages between the three sections of the building, you can very easily move from one section to another. From now on, you will also be able to access the Kauwenbergstraatje and Building R from the Paardenmarkt. This is possible both in the basement and on the first floor, which is quite special. Also nice: the historic basement - where apparently legendary student parties used to be organised - now accommodates more than 300 bikes.’
Nesting place for swifts
In the buildings, would-be product developers will find lots of workshops, design rooms and labs for welding, woodworking, 3D printing or laser cutting. ‘These are classrooms on a human scale, with large areas of glass, giving them a very spacious feel,’ De Pauw explains. ‘We paid a lot of attention to sustainability: the roofs are covered with solar panels, the toilets are flushed with rainwater, swifts are given the chance to make their nests here, and in the courtyards, we made an effort to decrease the total amount of paved surfaces.’
On Monday 13 February 2023, at the start of the second semester, the first students were introduced to their new home. During the International Design Workshop Week and Xplore Design Week (IDW), they let their creativity run wild under the guidance of (international) guest lecturers.
Read more about the education site at the Paardenmarkt in our blog.