Portier 51

From city library to circular housing project

In 2019, Mechelen's city library moved from Moensstraat to the Predikherenklooster. From the old library site, architectural firm BOB361 turned 16 apartments and 6 houses for those who want to live “typically Mechelen”. Residents will receive, in addition to a beautiful home, a collective interior garden, a roof garden and underground parking.

75% reuse
Architectural firm BOB361 and project developer CAAAP retained as much of the original heritage as possible: the gatehouse, the concrete skeletal structure of the library wing and the concrete basement. This is also better for the environment. There is a lot of CO2 in the existing structures. If you demolish those buildings, that CO2 is released. In addition, the production of new concrete is also avoided.

Future-proof design
BOB361 opted for a future-proof design. Thus, it combined the original structures with light interior walls, wooden mezzanine floors and different floor heights. The concrete grid of the facade and the recovered bricks bricked with lime mortar allow the facade infill to change. In 75 years, for example, will the residential project become an office or a library again? Then renovation or renewal will require much less energy and waste.

City as circular construction director With Porter 51, the city of Mechelen wants to contribute to circular building practices and a circular building policy. It has been doing so from the very beginning of the project. For example, the city already recovered almost 3.9 tons of reusable materials from the old city library. Think book shelves, railings, a steel staircase and window profiles.

©Mechelen