Rogier Bos

Interiors Buildings Cities

Wood Workshop

Craft Center: Craftschool & Young Entrepreneurs

Antwerp has always been a port city. After the industrial revolution, the port expanded towards the north to become a global seaport, while the old harbour “Het Eilandje” became a barrier between the new port and the city. Consequently, the bustle of port life disappeared and people moved away from the neighbourhood, although they have left traces in the urban figure. The neighbourhood consists of wide-open spaces and large-scale buildings, without hierarchy between mass and void, which is purely based on rationality and efficiency of the harbour. Inversing the mass and void of the classical block for the “Craft Center” would offer the urban fabric of “Het Eilandje” blurred spaces between public and private and open the building up towards the city. Using the historical shed wall as a threshold offers defined public spaces and a human scale for the “Craft Center” as well as the neighbourhood.

More information