Sint-Hiëronymous

This project transforms a disused chapel within the psychiatric centre of Sint-Niklaas into a contemporary space for silence and reflection. A carefully inserted, demountable timber structure re-scales the existing volume and creates zones of varying intimacy. The intervention preserves the spatial clarity of the chapel while introducing a new identity focused on mental well-being. Enclosed outdoor spaces extend the experience beyond the interior, offering calm, light and protected retreat.

A Place for Silence and Recovery

Within the psychiatric centre of Sint-Niklaas, a former chapel has been transformed into a contemporary space for silence and reflection. Although the building had lost its original liturgical function, it retained a strong spatial presence and symbolic weight.

The ambition was to reinterpret this sacred typology as a supportive environment for mental well-being: a place offering calm, safety and distance from everyday stimuli, while remaining open to individual interpretation.

Reinterpreting a Sacred Typology

Located within a healthcare campus, the chapel required a new relevance. The design intent is expressed in one clear architectural gesture: insert a secondary, carefully proportioned interior structure that re-scales the existing volume without erasing it.

Rather than transforming the exterior shell, the intervention works from within, allowing the original architecture to remain legible while accommodating contemporary therapeutic needs.

A Layered Interior Landscape

The new interior volume introduces a layered spatial sequence inside the larger chapel shell. Zones of varying intimacy are created, ranging from more enclosed spaces for retreat to more open areas connected to the full height of the nave.

Users can choose how to occupy the space, depending on their need for proximity or distance. This nuanced organisation reflects contemporary understandings of mental comfort, where silence and recovery are experienced differently by each individual.

Daylight is carefully filtered and framed, reinforcing orientation and calm. The space encourages slow, mindful occupation rather than programmed use.

Precision and Reversibility

The inserted volume forms an abstract spatial echo of the original chapel geometry. Through controlled proportions, material consistency and subtle duplication, the intervention reinforces rather than competes with the existing structure.

Constructed in timber and assembled on site, the new structure is fully demountable and can be relocated in the future. This reversible approach respects the historic fabric while ensuring long-term adaptability.

Extending Silence Outdoors

intentionally disconnected from their broader surroundings, offering moments of pause, light and fresh air.

Interior and exterior function as complementary environments, extending the experience of silence beyond the building envelope.

Reuse as Care

The project builds on the reuse of an existing structure, limiting material intervention while giving new meaning to a redundant building. The chapel is clad in thermowood, a material that weathers naturally over time, reinforcing the dialogue between continuity and change.

Through modest, precise interventions and a demountable interior structure, the project demonstrates how architectural care can support recovery, adaptability and long-term relevance.