This in mind, our proposal for KE3-A serves two calls – one is shaped by use, the other by context:

To ensure quick and smooth circulation for the resident’s everyday use of the parking structure, its layout is straightforward and clean: a series of linear ramps connects all levels and ensures forward access in and out. The separation between residents and visitors through exclusive ramps eases up orientation and avoids conflict.

Equally important to the design’s functional logic is its response to the neighbourhood through shape and meaning. Acknowledging the buildings unavoidable mass, the design carefully balances length and hight to find the most economical volume. This operation frees up space that becomes available to the community. To further reduce the scale, the building splits up into a plinth and a roof divided by a gap at the hight of the pedestrian. This nothingness at eyelevel helps to liberate views and to connect the existing urban fabric with the new.

To tie the parking structure to the neighbourhood’s thematic focus on sport activities, the above-mentioned released space features a skatepark that not only marks the entry point to the parking but becomes an urban entrance and a meeting point to the entire area.

In this project, the ground floor sets the tone: it separates sleeping above from living below, connects front and back, and opens almost entirely to the outdoors while a generous roof shields from uninvited views. Across three levels, the house offers varied experiences—rooms with distinct atmospheres, moods, and materials allow for flexible use and personal appropriation.

The aim is to open the Massenoire to the public and to breathe new life into the building through minimal programmatic interventions.

A large hall, the “Hall des Silos,” and a smaller hall, the “Hall des Séchoirs,” will in the future provide space for exhibitions, conferences, and events.

Interventions to the existing structure are kept to a minimum. One of the most significant measures is the upgrading of the “Hall des Séchoirs,” which until now has concealed its potential by functioning as a covered, fully enclosed outdoor space for storage and sanitary facilities. The end walls of the hall — a brick wall and a garage door — are removed, and the space is enclosed on all sides with a post-and-beam glazed façade.

Aside from improvements to thermal insulation, the “Hall des Silos” remains largely unchanged in its appearance; only the entrance is enlarged, and the industrial relics are highlighted through a carefully designed lighting concept.

The desire for the two halls to function independently informs the placement of the few new programmatic elements introduced in the project. Three volumes are positioned along the axis of the wall separating the two halls. They accommodate sanitary facilities, storage and technical rooms, as well as a small kitchenette, and are accessible from both sides.

The sports hall is centrally located in Berchem on a triangular plot adjacent to a railway line that divides the city. The site is near the primary school, which consists of two separate buildings connected by a pedestrian path that also crosses the future sports hall’s site. The surrounding urban fabric primarily consists of single-family homes and mid-sized buildings. Based on this context, the design follows three key principles: (i) creating a second entrance to the school campus (ii) defining an outdoor space for students along the pedestrian path (iii) integrating the building harmoniously into its urban surroundings.

The location along the railway and street presents an opportunity to establish a secondary entrance, improving campus accessibility and visibility beyond Berchem. This entrance is envisioned as a transition zone that both protects the playground and guides visitors arriving from the nearby Park & Ride facility.

To balance functionality and budget constraints, the hall is designed as compact as possible. However, a purely rectangular volume would clash with the surrounding urban fabric. A raised “ribbon-like” structure extends along the north, east, and south façades, breaking the mass into a more human scale. This feature also provides weather protection along pedestrian paths and a sheltered waiting area for parents.

The project aims to maintain compactness while ensuring functional and architectural quality. The “ribbon” not only shapes the building’s exterior but also structures its internal logic. Visitors are led via a spacious staircase to the first floor, where a foyer connects key functions such as a multipurpose room, a concession stand and spectator stands. The multipurpose room can be integrated into the foyer when needed.

The first-floor corridor encircles the main sports hall, providing continuous circulation and clear sightlines. Glass partitions between the corridor, multipurpose room, and judo hall can be opened, allowing the spaces to expand dynamically. This openness transforms the hall into a unified, multi-level environment, enhancing both functionality and spatial experience.
The project’s overall approach balances efficiency, urban integration, and a dynamic, flexible use of space.

The project brings different functions together: public tasting rooms in various sizes, a wine shop, an event room with a professional kitchen, and administrative offices on the ground floor. The first floor accommodates the future premises of Studio Jil Bentz and a private flat. One of the project’s main challenges was to fit this mixture of functions in a harmonious way into a straight and narrow site markedly constrained by its topography. The response to the challenge was given in the plan: the approach was to avoid corridors by adapting the principle of enfilades.

The spatial strategy was amplified by structural walls in prefabricated concrete that draw a succession of squared rooms rotated 45°. The architectural move opens up diagonal perspectives that reduce the perception of narrowness awoken by the context. Correspondingly, the rotation of the ground floor’s baring walls finds an echo on the saw-tooth roof whose surfaces follow the same orientation. At the same time, the roof’s inclination has been informed by the neighboring roof landscape of the original winery. A particular attention has been given to the selection of materials by seeking locally sourced products that had to emphasize the atmosphere of a winery and to showcase the singularity of the project.

The project was awarded the first prize in the ‘red-rock trail’ lodging competition held as part of Esch-sur-Alzette’s designation as European capital of culture for 2022.

The mission was to transform the pond into a tourist shelter for 8 people. The approach was to keep the pond’s original personality and the attitude that governed its construction. Few precise steps were taken to restore the ruins and create a diversity of spaces. The proportionate intervention brought two symmetrical spaces. One is a circular patio and the other a triangular inner space placed within a larger cercle. The former is delineated by a new overground wall that follows the latter’s underground footprint.

One challenge was to bring light into the basement. It was addressed by creating an atrium with a small water pond that reflects natural light and recalls the building’s former function. Another challenge was to maintain the space’s narrow integrity while making room for four bedrooms.

The response was geometrical, by exploiting the space arising between the existing circle and the new triangle. The staircase is positioned in the middle. It plays a key role by connecting the different building parts together and by ending in an iconic observation tower that connects, in turn, the shelter to the red-rock trail.

The project brings different functions together: public tasting rooms in various sizes, a wine shop, an event room with a professional kitchen, and administrative offices on the ground floor. The first floor accommodates the future premises of Studio Jil Bentz and a private flat. One of the project’s main challenges was to fit this mixture of functions in a harmonious way into a straight and narrow site markedly constrained by its topography. The response to the challenge was given in the plan: the approach was to avoid corridors by adapting the principle of enfilades.

The spatial strategy was amplified by structural walls in prefabricated concrete that draw a succession of squared rooms rotated 45°. The architectural move opens up diagonal perspectives that reduce the perception of narrowness awoken by the context. Correspondingly, the rotation of the ground floor’s baring walls finds an echo on the saw-tooth roof whose surfaces follow the same orientation. At the same time, the roof’s inclination has been informed by the neighboring roof landscape of the original winery. A particular attention has been given to the selection of materials by seeking locally sourced products that had to emphasize the atmosphere of a winery and to showcase the singularity of the project.