099 Symbiosis Ostend

The old Sandershoeve is located in the polders just behind the coastline. The typical longhouse is part of the protected village landscape of Stene, a village near Ostend. The farmlands will soon be transformed into a public agricultural park.

These qualities make Sandershoeve a site that is as special as it is difficult to convert. A collaboration between the city of Ostend and Symbiosis, which provides cohousing for senior citizens, offers a solution.

The city invests in the front area and will use part of the barn for the agricultural park. Symbiosis will occupy the largest part of the farmstead and, on the site of a few ruins, will build a volume for 18 households. Between the two buildings a collective yard will be created with a private character.

The old building will be restored where necessary and whitewashed, while the new volume will be a wooden construction covered with dark boards. The farmstead regulates the site and combines its new public vocation with – and in spite of – a predominantly private interpretation. In this way, it remains the most important building, despite the significantly larger size of the new building.