The site of the Redemptorist priests of Ghent was initially made up of a monastery, a church and large lands. This 1.8-hectare property is located near the city’s train station and schools. The confreres decided to realize an innovative project open to the outside world (as opposed to the principles of closed monasteries). The project includes 490 rooms for students, apartments, places of prayer for priests, housing for homeless people, ateliers, shops, a training center and one for celebrations. All is organized along a new pedestrian public street surrounded by parks and green areas.
The heart of the site, where the training center is located, is designed in an innovative way. It is not just a church but a meeting space. A terrace and a cafeteria welcome visitors while other meeting rooms complete the educational center. In this context, visibility and readability become essential from both the site and building point of view. The space dedicated to celebrations is considered, by the same priests, the gem of the project. This image was realized thanks to a particular coating made of ceramic tiles with pearly and changeable reflections. This uninterrupted coating marks the church volume and continues on the access to the internal space dedicated to celebrations. The elegant and design furnishing, which is functional and practical at the same time, represents a meeting point between aesthetic and technical constraints.
