Church + Masterplan (ongoing), Herentals, 2019 - ...view project
bricks from the demolished old church
reclaiming a forgotten spatial type
In the Herentals church project, re-use operates on two levels: material and typological. Bricks salvaged from the demolished old church were given a second life, grounding the new design in the physical memory of what was lost.
But beyond materials, the design also reclaims a forgotten spatial type—the grotto. Drawing on historical research into castle parks and their spiritual landscapes, the project revives the grotto as a space of reflection and shelter. Reimagined as a reconstructed hill formed from earth excavated on site, the vaulted interior encloses three brick volumes—a chapel, baptistery, and sacristy. This layered reuse, of both matter and meaning, anchors the new church in its context while offering a timeless, contemplative space.
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G1908
ongoing
Herentals
2019 - ...
Church + Masterplan, icw TEd’A arquitectes, BAS, Kahle Acoustics, Jan Minne
Church + Masterplan, icw TEd’A arquitectes, BAS, Kahle Acoustics, Jan Minne
, Herentals, 2019 - ...
The last resident of the Le Paige estate donated her castle and the surrounding park to the City of Herentals on condition that the neighbouring dilapidated emergency church be replaced by a new church. The designated site is located along the northern entrance gate, right on the old ramparts.
On this historically significant site, three spaces are constructed from reclaimed brick within the perimeter of a square. The defensive mound, eroded by time, is locally reconstructed in the form of an earthen mound surrounding the three volumes. Cut off by the square, the mound forms the natural formwork for a vault. The context provides the materials for the intervention. The earth for the mound comes from the deepening of the moat. The existing church is recycled as granulate for the cyclopean concrete with which the formwork is filled to the top.
1st prize, Open Oproep 3707 Church and Masterplan, Herentals
1st prize, Open Oproep 3707 Church and Masterplan, Herentals, Herentals, 26.06.2020
GAPFA, together with TEd’A arquitectes, BAS, Kahle Acoustics and Jan Minne, wins the architectural competition for the construction of a new contemporary church. The sacred meeting place fits into a landscape development vision for the wider area, within the old city walls of Herentals.