Loods 23

New circularly designed office in protected cotton shed

Ghent's outer harbor was built at the end of the 19th century. Now that Voorhaven is the largest protected cityscape. One of the 15 protected monuments is Loods 23, one of 6 old cotton warehouses. Compagnie-O Architects repurposed the shed into a cascading space with residential lofts on the 1st floor and workspaces on the first floor. DENC-STUDIO bought part of the shed to turn it into its new office. And they furnished it completely circular.

Protected steel skeleton
DENC-STUDIO is an architectural and engineering firm that specializes in sustainable building. Their designs have already won several awards, including for their redesign of Loods 23. And that shed was actually nothing more than a steel skeleton of 100 by 40 meters with a roof truss, but without roofing, exterior walls or load-bearing interior walls. Nothing was allowed to be changed about that rusty steel structure. It is still visible throughout the building. The steel columns were given a protective casing at the bottom.

Circular insulation and wood construction
DENC-STUDIO insulated its office with métisse: insulation made from recycled cotton like jeans that can't get a second life. That insulation has high thermal resistance and absorbs sound like no other. The firm also chose dry joints and finishing methods. In the dark corner of the office, the firm built a kind of raised podium with an archive underneath.

The beams of the podium were left raw and at full length to be reused later. The beams of all the wood construction in the office were also sawn as little as possible in order to give them additional life afterwards. All the wood used is bio-ecologically sound.
 
Circular furniture and furnishings
Tables and chairs were recovered. As an office chair, they chose the Herman Miller Aeron, which has a cradle-to-cradle certificate. An ergonomic chair without foam, fabric and leather, every part of which can be reused. The new lighting consists of the desk lamps from the previous office and restored industrial fixtures. The curtains, plants, crockery and art on the walls were also all recovered and reused.

Photo by Marble Moon