URA Architects

KAU Gymnasium . Brussels

URA Architects . photos: © Filip Dujardin

The surrounding forest is the starting point for URA to design a simple building which contains all confrontations of the site : open vs. closed, trees vs. slope, materiality vs. transparency, building vs. environment. The gymnasium is dug into the natural slope.

The facade shows the duality of the context : a strong, closed concrete wall on the one side and a wooden structure with a black steel plates cladded facade on the other side. These two facades meet in the perspective of the stage-stair. The surrounding trees are seen from different perspectives. “Going to the gym” confronts the pupils (again) with the basic elements of nature.

URA Yves Malysse Kiki Verbeeck
Collaborators: Benny Geerinckx, Wim Dirickx
Surface: 540 m²
Budget: 700.000 EURO
Dates: 2009 (competition); 2013 (completion)