BKRK BAKERY
Renovation of a heritage barn in the Provincial domain of Bokrijk, Belgium, into a sourdough bakery, within the framework of the BKRK program on contemporary craftsmanship.
For the project 'BKRK Bokrijk Brandmerkt', multiple curators work around the theme of craftmanship. For the craft 'BREAD', star chef Kobe Desramaults and his team open a 'Superette' in the Barn of Meeuwen. This is an artisanal bakery which shows the whole process from field to bread - and beyond.
Here, BC architects & studies revives traditional construction techniques, and combines these with contemporary design. The barn was dismantled: the old thatched roof and wattle-and-daub wall infills were removed. The remaining oak posts and beams were numbered and subsequently dismantled and stocked on site. Foundations were adapted, and the oak structural elements were assembled back into their original position.
Local and natural materials were used where possible. A new thatched roof from reeds on top of a poplar planking was ins- talled. Wall infills in between oak posts and beams consist of hempcrete externally rendered with lime plasters. Inside, most finishings were done with earth, such as earthen finishing plasters, a rammed earth counter and a rammed earth floor. All clays, sands and gravels for earth construction techniques were sources from the nearby valley of the river Maas. New interior vo- lumes were constructed out of hempcrete for extra insulation, to accommodate a large fridge and a heated office space. The hempcrete volumes and the rammed earth counter define work and public spaces within the barn. Finally, a chimney masonry structure to accommodate bread ovens was added to the external volume of the barn. This chimney was handmade of bricks which were fired from local Maas clay.
