hotel 's hertogenmolens aarschot, belgium

‘s hertogenmolens AarschotNOA Architecten

It was a mill for corn and oil.Now it’s transformed into an hotel, a bistro and a banquet. The whole building is a protected monument and a protected city view.

History

1505-1507: 3 functions 1. The 4 mills, 2. A gateway where the ships needed to pay toll 3. protection,thefloodgatescouldbeopened

1890 : expanded the building with stack – and workhouses. It became a complex with stepped gables and pointed gables and saddle roofs.

1970:Firstafiredestroyedthenorthsideofthebuilding.Andnotmuch later, Because of the decay, the south-west facade collapsed.

Renovation

Bistro Hotel

Banquet

2007-2010: the city of Aarschot wanted to renovate the site and wanted to upgrade it to a visitors sight. They gave the assignment to noA architects from brussels. The project creates acces to the north part of the city and because of the renovation there would be a horizontal water Wheel for green energy.

Concept

a building AND a bridge a house AND a factory

powerfull AND fragile

The architects wanted just one whole volume.They remade the lost parts of the building without remarkable contrasting forms. The north and west facades must be in one volume with the old building.They adjust the building for his new functions.

With the materials they wanted the building to have the look of what itwasbeforethefire,theyusedmodernmaterialswiththesameview.

The hotel on the north side was in situ concrete with the same look of the sandstone The corten steel on the west facade is a reference to the facade before the renovation. How the ruïne looked like.

Inside the building

Opinion

Not everyone in the city liked the new modern materials. The citizens where thinking out loud that they really would have liked to just rebuild the mills as they were. But then there was a discussion aboutmakingaprojectinthecityormakingabuildingwhichwouldfitin “bokrijk” an outside museum with old houses rebuilded like they were. the mayor liked the approach of the architects very much because it’s well suited in the modern look he likes to give Aarschot.

‘s hertogenmolens|Aarschot|noA architecten

It was a mill for corn and oil. Now it’s transformed

into an hotel, a bistro and a banquet. The whole building is a protected

monument and a protected city view. OLD

OLD

NEW

NEWNIV 0.

SECTION