OFFICE PARK LOKEREN
Office Park is developed at the transition between an industrial complex and suburban housing. The project organised the site in long strips running from north to south: a green buffer zone facing the suburban neighbourhood, a strip of parking, an 80-meter-long building zone, and a ditch for natural water infiltration along the side of the main road.
Four cores are placed within a simple structure sitting in the building zone. Their off-centre position creates a narrower zone along the southern facade of the building and deeper zones facing the north. This narrow zone is the main circulation zone, providing access towards the office units in between the cores. Its south facing orientation and its proximity to the noisy highway allows it to function as a buffer for noise and heat for the office units. Sitting between inside and outside, this naturally climatized buffer zone serves as an informal space for meeting and interacting shared between the four units on each floor. On the intersection of this buffer zone and the double height entrance hall sits a mighty steel spiral staircase. An invitation to explore the higher floors, a hint of it can be glimpsed through the southern façade, but its presence becomes especially noteworthy upon entrance from the north side of the building.
While the south facade acts as the representative façade of the building and is completely glazed, the north, east and south facades are formed by an austere concrete framework and generous windows. Through specific detailing of the joints, windows and roof edges the industrial concrete facades become quite refined. The shift of the corners of the volume introduces a particular stepping facade along the parking ramp.
The office spaces are characterised by their spartan generosity. The offices are mostly oriented towards the north which reduces the energy required for cooling, and benefit from abundant daylight through the north-facing ceiling-high windows, and from tempered southern light via the circulation strip.
The building and its façade articulation negotiate their orientation and location. The organization of stripped zones creates an atypical office building – that is to say, an office without a central core – in which the collective circulation becomes a lively facade. This collective space, together with the high entrance hall, forms a hub for meeting and interaction between the tenant companies. The integration of sustainable techniques, the orientation of the building and the thorough insulation minimise energy consumption, eliminating the need for fossil fuel. The rational structure and free height of the office floors allow for the easy modification of the layout in the short term, and for the long-term incorporation of other programs in the building.
