Hand-Made miniature green grey facing brick makes the building stand out thanks to its texture and colour

The Joremaaie Apartment Building in Ghent, timeless and solid brick architecture

The Joremaaie project is located in Ghent city centre. It is the second project that CAAN architecten have carried out at this site for Lafaut Invest. The first project (Leiezicht Apartment Building) is located right next to this one. The third and latest project (Bord de Lys Apartment Building) is located a bit further along the street. The various projects are bordered by the river Lys and the Reke towpath along the western side.

The Joremaaie Apartment Building contains 23 luxury apartments, commercial space and an underground parking garage.

JOREMAAIE: DESIGN BY CAAN ARCHITECTEN

In order to provide a contrast with neighbouring buildings, CAAN Architecten deliberately chose a rather austere and solid brick architecture. By retaining the same timeless architectural features but using a different material, the building does not dominate the area and none of the buildings are inferior to the others.

The architects varied the number of floors in order to create a play on volume. As a result, the height of the building façade next to the water varies from two to five floors which gives the façade an elegant appearance. Its stateliness is enhanced by the deep recessed windows, the expansive glazed areas and the completely open corner terraces. These elements also emphasise the verticality of the building.

The dynamics at cornice height ensure that the façades are never overpowering, in contrast with an integral façade four floors high, for example. The commercial space on the ground floor was set back and made transparent in order to make the floors of the building above look as if they were floating and further accentuate the design. CAAN Architecten considered it very important to include an elevated element on top of the building.

GREEN GREY MINIATURE FACING BRICK

For the brickwork, CAAN Architecten chose Hand-Made miniature Green Grey facing brick to contrast with the surrounding area: “Both the colour and the texture create sufficient differentiation from the adjoining apartment complex with terraces framed in concrete (along the water) and the white plastered town house (street side). To emphasise the solidity of the brick façades, deep window recesses were created around the window openings.”

The Joremaaie project is constructed in the form of horizontal floors which are accentuated by a horizontal sunken joint (black natural stone) which gives the volume the refinement required.

Some of the façades around the central courtyard garden were finished in smooth white plaster to really make this area stand out.

The white colour also gives the garden an airy feel and creates a number of attractive contrasts (like the side wall of the passage on Ham).

Comparable case studies

The old gasworks in Lier

As the name suggests, the project is situated on the site of the old gasworks on the outskirts of Lier.