Poort van de Prijkels
A green home for entrepreneurs
A barren wasteland in the parceled-out Flanders is undergoing a metamorphosis; a transformation that will introduce extensive green. Many new trees will soon form the new context of three timber towers. A gate; an inseparable ensemble of landscape AND architecture, stimulates and shows that business parks can also transform into inspiring and pleasant places for people and animals.
International team led by DELVA wins tender
Team DELVA – KAAN – DENKC-STUDIO, wins the tender Poort van de Prijkels. This led by Alheembouw-Steenoven and commissioned by the intermunicipal association Veneco.
The team is joining forces to make the 'Gate of the Prijkels' a new reference in how office buildings and nature can be developed hand in hand.
Setting an example for the new way of working.
Sustainability, ecology, social welfare, architecture and landscape value: the combination makes the 'Poort van de Prijkels' an exemplary project. It answers more than one problem. We want to switch up the preconceived notion of the typical ugly, concrete industrial site. We strive to create a real destination, an inspiring place for people and animals that focuses on well-being; a place that you are drawn to because it has its own identity. Ecology is the decisive factor in this, that is why we are creating a space here that fully respects and integrates the natural environment. Out of respect for the soil, we avoid any unnecessary compaction and we make a closed cut and fill balance. In this way we try to ensure that people, nature and animals live together coherently and sustainably.
The project thus shines in its integrated approach to all current building challenges of our time. Responsibility is thus taken to carry out the construction tasks in a balanced and sustainable way.
Mental health first
Inclusion and the mental well-being of the future users are given the highest priority. A beautiful forest landscape will soon meander between the buildings and be admired from the terraces. “We are moving away from the gray highway infrastructure and traditional concrete here,” says Steven Delva. “In this story, we bring landscape and buildings together in such a way that they almost merge, so that you really enter a new world.”
A park to get lost in, literally and figuratively
A sea of forest green; this will become the cradle of a business park that harmonizes sustainability, ecology and conscious entrepreneurship. “We create a world that inspires; that ensures nature and people meet, and at the same time forms an entrance to the timber towers. Landscape, trees, wooden facade, together they will form the green gate of the Prijkels.”
Every day greeted by art
Between all that natural beauty, there will soon also be room for landscape art. A remarkable landscape installation, called De karreweg, by Dutch artist Paul de Kort will greet everyone who steps through the gate. The work will be photographed daily for a year with the aim of creating a timelapse that will form a digital gateway.
Location: Karrewegstraat, Deinze, Belgium
Client: Veneco, Destelbergen (BE)
Program: offices, shops, daycare, fitness centre, bank, parking Competition phase: November 2021 – March 2022
Design phase: 2023
Lead Architect: KAAN Architecten, Rotterdam (NL)
Local Architect: DENC-STUDIO, Gent (BE)
Landscape Architect: DELVA Landscape Architects, Amsterdam (NL) Landscape Artist: Paul de Kort, De Meern (NL)
Sustainability advisor: DENC-STUDIO, Gent (BE)
Structural, MEP, building physics and fire safety engineer: BM Engineering, Kortrijk (NL) Mobility advisor: Suunta, Leuven (BE)
Visualizations: Vivid Vision, Wrocław (PL)
