Belgium – Architectural services for buildings – Aanstellen ontwerper: Renovatie en herbestemming van de Villa Vande Walle

The repurposing of Villa Vande Walle marks an important first step in the development of the arts site De Spil. Following the realisation of the new academy for part-time art education, a unique cultural campus is created where education, creation, presentation and encounter reinforce each other. Within this broader context, with De Spil, the Heilig-Hartkerk, the city park and the new academy as important anchor points, the Villa gains a new social and cultural significance. The City of Roeselare wants to develop Villa Vande Walle into a shared cultural workspace for the City of Roeselare, Academieplus and De Spil. The Villa will be a complementary place within the arts site: not a classic cultural building, but a flexible work and development environment where artists, students, cultural professionals and the public meet. The Villa will have a clear focus on art education, artistic development, creation, residency, presentation and experimentation. It will provide space for both professional artists and young makers and students to explore, create and showcase their work. The building will thus become a vibrant place where heritage and contemporary culture meet and where creativity, collaboration and knowledge sharing are central. Villa Vande Walle will be a sustainable building. Therefore, maximum use will be made of reducing energy consumption and using sustainable energy sources. The concrete design brief for this new cultural hotspot includes the following aspects: - The repurposing of Villa Vande Walle into a shared cultural workspace for the City of Roeselare, Academieplus (the merged art academy of performing and visual arts) and the cultural centre De Spil. This involves developing a future-oriented vision for the site as a coherent whole of culture, education and encounter, with attention to its role and integration into the wider environment. - A building physics and energy aspect as part of the necessary renovation of Villa Vande Walle. A thorough energy renovation is therefore an essential precondition for the future of Villa Vande Walle. Special attention is paid to solutions that are compatible with the heritage value of the building and result in a well-considered energy management. In addition to the energy interventions, a building physics renovation is also necessary. An integrated building physics approach ensures that the renovation is not only energy-efficient but also sustainable and healthy for both the building and its users. In this way, the lifespan of the heritage is extended and future maintenance and restoration costs are limited. Thus, it is possible to safeguard the historical and architectural value of the building for future generations. - The development of the external layout and landscape integration of the building in its existing environment is also a point of attention. It should be investigated how the relationship between the Villa and the park can be strengthened. The assignment concerns a complex assignment that consists of various sub-assignments that all have to be coordinated with each other to result in one integrated whole. A future vision for the Villa must be developed, integrated into its environment.