Military Hospital Oostende

Winning competition design for the redevelopment of a former military hospital into residential and commercial spaces.

  • © Johnny Umans
  • © Johnny Umans
  • © Johnny Umans
  • © Johnny Umans
  • © Johnny Umans
  • © Johnny Umans
  • © Johnny Umans
  • © Johnny Umans
  • © Johnny Umans
  • © Johnny Umans
  • © Johnny Umans
  • © Johnny Umans
  • © Johnny Umans
  • © Johnny Umans
  • © Johnny Umans
  • © Johnny Umans
  • © Johnny Umans

The redevelopment of the former military hospital into a residential quarter is an interesting challenge in many respects. 
The site is part of Oosteroever, an area separated from the town centre only by the harbour channel. This area is manifesting the first signs of the imminent upgrading development. Its location near the city centre, the vicinity of the dunes and the sea and the fact that Oosteroever is easily reached by car as well as by public transport, will prove to be key to the development of this area into a new, vital part of the city.
Oosteroever accommodates a number of large-scale functions and complements the existing city centre.
As Oosteroever’s corner building, the former military hospital will be a beacon, a pilot project proclaiming the redevelopment of the area.
The site formed an introverted, isolated fragment. Its characteristic appearance was defined by a strict enclosure, like a neat bow tied around the massive heap of red stone that constitutes the building’s roofs and facades. Within this enclosure, a main building and some pavilions (hospital wards) were implanted at the beginning of the previous century in a military grid pattern.

client Vanhaerents
location Oostende, Belgium
period 2004-2019
procedure competition, laureate
surface 30 000 m²
budget € 40 000 000
team Lieven Achtergael, Tine Bulckaen, Geert De Groote, Filip Reggers, Pauline De Schryver, Karen Willemyns, PieterJan Van Loock, Jeffrey Berghman, Barbara Wolff, Ida Lievens, Frederique Nys, Jan Mannaerts, Kris Buyse, Katrijn Persoons, Steve Salembier, Guy Van Seters, Paul Vantieghem, Isabelle Dierickx, Najiw Zemmouri
i.c.w. Stéphane Beel (architectural design), Groep 3 Architecten (architectural design), Paul Deroose (landscape design), Planet Engineering (structural engineering), Studiebureau Boydens (MEP engineering)