06/07/2017
GO! Campus Ter Zee in Ostend covers an area of approximately 47,000 m². Since 30 April 2016, three new buildings have been added to this campus. Together, they account for 7,191 m² of new construction for three different educational institutions. Financed, designed, built and now maintained as part of the ‘Schools of Tomorrow’ school construction programme.
The School for Theatre and Technology of the Ensor Institute, CVO De Avondschool and SBSO Ter Zee. Three schools with very diverse, specialised fields of study, each requiring its own architectural approach. And yet also requiring a masterplan with unity and well-considered layouts.
To meet this challenge, the Flemish Government Architect launched an Open Call in 2010. Architects Tom Van Mieghem, who had already been selected for previous projects on this campus in 2004 and 2007, were also commissioned to design this extension, together with Ghislain Lams. For the so-called ‘small d’ (design), Build and Maintenance, the project was awarded to contractor Alheembouw.
The Box building forms part of the School of Theatre and Technology at the Ensor Institute. CVO De Avondschool also organises many classes here, both during the day and in the evenings.
De Box takes its name from the ‘box-in-box’ principle: various separate volumes are, after all, housed within the whole as distinct boxes. Around this, the glass ‘box’ was then built to enclose the whole. Here you will find the reception and administration.
The building continues into the so-called ‘Boekenrek’. This is a stacked classroom block with teaching and specialist rooms, including a classroom for shop assistants, a computer room, a room for PAV and a room for home help.
But the most substantial part of this building? That is the theatre hall and all the spaces associated with it.
The theatre auditorium has 175 seats. However, you won’t see the seating area in the virtual tour. The auditorium is multifunctional and the seats can be fully retracted telescopically.
Here, students are trained as lighting and sound technicians or stage technicians. Do take a look from the catwalk. It goes without saying that the acoustics had to be excellent. In addition to the black box itself, an audio booth, a bar and a foyer for after-show gatherings were also essential.
In terms of technology and initial equipment, this theatre is the real showstopper of the project. A system of rails, catwalks, hoists and drum winches offers a wealth of possibilities. The curtains and carpets, projector, audio and video systems, dimmers, etc. were also installed by the contractor. The specialist firm TTAS (Theater Technieken Advies Studie) was brought in specifically for this project.
The theatre hall will be opened to the local community, on one condition: that the students of the Ensor Institute are allowed to take full responsibility for the technical aspects of the performance themselves. And that these evening and weekend hours, of course, do not place too heavy a burden on their curriculum.
Connected to the Box and the Bookshelf via a playground and a canopy, you will find the studio buildings.
Architecture with far less glass – but the exposed concrete ensures unity with the rest of the new development. In these buildings, too, you will not find ordinary classrooms, but specialist subject rooms. This is where the courses in the technical sector are housed, such as car mechanics, moped mechanics, bodywork mechanics, tyre fitters, but also, for example, residential electrical installers.
These courses require plenty of space and modern infrastructure. The architecture and technical systems of this new building are perfectly tailored to this. Thanks to the dormer windows, the wall surface area can be utilised to the full and there is vertical light ingress. Furthermore, specialised and safe technical systems play a key role: think of power sockets, smoke extraction and smoke detectors. Initial equipment, such as welding stations, a lathe, a car lift, etc., is also part of the programme.
The Ter Zee school for special secondary education offers education in training streams 1 and 2. This means that pupils are prepared to function in society and in a working environment. To this end, they receive vocational training here in both the service and manufacturing sectors: metalwork, painting, cooking, shop assistant, hairdressing and beauty care.
In this building, the ground floor houses reception and administrative offices, whilst the first and second floors contain classrooms. The workshops are located in other, existing buildings on the site. The dark blue corridors and indoor and outdoor staircases lead you through the classroom block and to the spacious yet enclosed playground.