Frans Masereel Centre

At the Frans Masereel Centre in Kasterlee, around sixty artists, researchers, critics, academics and students stay each year in temporary residence. The former A-frame pavilions, dating from the 1970s, had reached the end of their service life due to structural deterioration and no longer offered the spatial or environmental comfort required by contemporary users.

The new Artist Residences rethinks this residential programme as a compact collective building that supports both concentration and exchange. The project provides nine living units for up to twenty-six residents, combining individual retreat with shared domesticity in a setting that remains intimate, rural and closely connected to the landscape.

The design starts from the specific qualities of the site and seeks to establish continuity between what is already there and what is added. Rather than reproducing the former pavilion typology, the project introduces a more collective residential model that still preserves the calm and recognisable character of the Frans Masereel Centre.

The foundation is the replacement of dispersed and deteriorated units with one compact circular building that organises collective life efficiently while opening every residence towards the surrounding landscape. A new meandering path links the building to the other circular structures on the site and reinforces the sense of continuity across the ensemble.

The building combines shared and individual use in a carefully balanced way. A collective kitchen and living space form the social heart of the project and connect directly to a series of sheltered outdoor places defined by planting, shade and landscape design.

On the upper floors, the living units are arranged so that each corner contains a polyvalent space with views towards the surroundings. This layout allows residents to adapt their rooms to different patterns of use, whether for working, resting or temporary shared occupation. Compactness and collectivity are thus reconciled without sacrificing spatial quality.

The structure is organised around a CLT core containing bathrooms wrapped around a central service duct. From this core, primary timber beams span outwards to three metal rings at the perimeter. This means that both internal partitions and façade walls remain non-load-bearing, allowing each floor to be divided independently and reconfigured over time.

The entire supporting structure is designed for simple, non-destructive disassembly. Flexibility and demountability are therefore embedded in the building’s structural logic rather than treated as an added layer.

The building is positioned along a new meandering route connecting four other circular buildings on the site. Around it, varied shade, planting and furnishing create a series of outdoor rooms for rest and informal encounter.

Terraces wrap around the protected volume and extend the domestic space outwards. They also mediate between building and landscape, strengthening the experience of living within a wooded and retreat-like setting.