Offices Van Hoorebeke Timber
Vasco Da Gamalaan, Gent
Connected to the world’s seas and oceans via waterways, the site on the dock in the Port of Ghent serves as a link between timber-producing countries and the continental market. In term the site can supply the city by water. Unprocessed wood is unloaded by ship, stored, processed, and transported over land.
Between the seemingly endless storage buildings for wood and the planing mill, the reception building with central administration completes the production site. It serves as a reception area for truck drivers picking up processed or unprocessed wood and for customers visiting the site.
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The footprint of the building starts from a simple rectangle that is milled into a polygonal shape, dictated by circulation routes on the production site. Beneath a gently sloping roof, the ground floor accommodates reception areas, a cafeteria, and meeting rooms of various sizes. Higher up, under the roof, the permanent workspaces overlook the industrial landscape and the water.
As an alternative to a generic office building between the large scale sheds, that could never do the representation of the company justice, the building resembles a shed. The building harmonizes with the context. But it’s a versatile character that, depending on the vantage point, can be read as a house. Each work area is assigned its own outdoor area, and the lightly stained wood prevents the neutrality typical of standardized workspaces.
A clearance in the forest
The project challenges the contemporary corporate culture that produces over-standardized yet sterile workspaces. Conceived as a forest of vertical wooden elements, strictly aligned, the program elements find their place beneath the oversized, gently sloping wooden roof, through which light filters. A covered outdoor space, with a wood fire, becomes a quality gathering place amid the logistical traffic. It is a sheltered area on the company premises, a safe haven, a clearance in the forest.
This building, constructed from wood and light, which men sees as baseline, , seeks to define what a quality workspace could be. It is found in elements such as interaction, daylight, tranquility, and vegetation.
