Encounter place for psychiatric center Sint-Amedeus
Diversity + space as a work form + Market
rebuilding weekly chapel into a cluster of spiritual spaces
design: tc plus
After the development of the master plan for the new psychiatric center, the chapel, formerly embedded in the monastic buildings, found itself at the street side as the face of the whole site. The idea to redesign the chapel as transit-and encounter space was born.
The assignment read as follows: “ Transform the existing, catholic chapel to an innovatory place that is open aswell to diverse ideologies, as to
individual and common introspection and to benificent reflection to come to inner peace. Take into account the specific context of the psychiatric campus Saint Amedeus: a large diversity of physical and mental needs,
interpretations and expressions.”
The old chapel and its adjacent spaces and the rood loft were redesigned as a new whole with diverse zones and experience possibilities: a large open court, a horizontal lying area, a vertical mystery room, a small conversation room and a undestined room. In all these spaces sensory perception is very important aswell as the possibility to give space to very diverse meetings.
In one way or another every place has its own connection with the chapel, but can also be entered and used independently.
Because of its transit character and the wish to connect two worlds (in and out the center) the chapel has two passageways: a long one starting from the street and a short one from the center itself.
The chapel is the heart of the puzzle of sacral zones, the core where many people can come together and where also many diverse activities can be developed.
The chapel is particularly a place where diversity and evolutions of the needs might be supported. The original character of this space, like the vaulted
ceiling, the visible bricks, the filtered light through the stained glasses and the sense of security of its architectural form, are partly preserved, but two new white walls are added at the end walls of the room.
In this way the chapel can be used as well as a traditional religious place as for new kinds of meetings.
designers:
Tom Callebaut and Natalie Allaert i.c.w. VK group
