PIKOH
PIKOH, School of Arts in Hasselt (BE) offers secondary education in visual, media and performing arts. Because of the exponential growth of the school, there was a great need for a new building for the f irst grade with its own classrooms, workshops, restaurant, multipurpose hall, sports hall and administration. This development is part of the transformation of the “Elfde-Linie” city campus, inspired by the American Campus Model. The nearby Demer River and Kapermolenpark serve as natural anchors in this new layout.
Our design proposes a clear and compact f ive-storey volume, strategically positioned on the edge of the site, 40 metres from the Demer. The design leaves space for a generous green playground. The site’s existing topography is embraced through a series of indoor and outdoor staircases that connect the various school buildings and function as informal meeting places.
The architecture ref lects PIKOH’s educational vision: a hybrid learning environment filled with daylight, featuring an open structure and no traditional corridors. Theory classrooms and art studios are placed on the same level to promote interaction. The classroom f loors are organised into “learning nests”: clusters of three classrooms located at the building’s ends. On the south side, “innovation clusters” support co-teaching, while the north side accommodates more traditional learning spaces.
A long the longitudinal façades, glazed technical workshops and open art studios enhance visibility and connection.
The “forum” at the heart of the building is designed as a multifunctional space that serves as a meeting point, exhibition area, open studio, or debate zone. The open f loor plan (‘plan libre’) creates dynamic learning landscapes, allowing functions to f low seamlessly and enabling a f luid student experience.
The upper f loors host spaces for sports, dance, and theatre, arranged around a central agora. The design takes inspiration from the archetypal industrial artist’s studio: sober, robust, and adaptable. The transparent ground f loor offers views of the surrounding park and playground, while distinctive concrete cross-columns lend the building a strong identity.
A luminium cladding gives the façades a subtle shimmer, blending with the green surroundings. Human-scale horizontal windows, arranged in a 1x1m grid, provide panoramic views of the landscape and reinforce the building’s connection to its
context.
