Edegem Community Center / Marc Koehler Architects

Edegem Community Center / Marc Koehler Architects

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The new Edegem wood community center strengthens the local community. New regional center of culture and leisure, the community center and the library of Edegem constitute the “missing link” which reinforces the social fabric of the village. Built with environmental responsibility at its heart, two pavilion-shaped volumes, constructed from cross-laminated timber, seamlessly connect to the heritage site and enhance the 19th-century garden as an oasis for reading and reflection. Designed with and for the community, the building features a flexible interior that adapts to their changing needs. The building reinvents the library in the digital age. By providing spaces not only for reading offline, but also for digital media, all kinds of classes and for community groups to rent meeting rooms. There is also a cafe-book and a staircase that acts as a small presentation space. The building is more than a place for books. It is a place to meet, learn, relax and be inspired.

Wooden building in the public domain. The new community center in Edegem is the “Gold Standard” for innovation in wooden buildings in the public domain. The Belgian government demonstrates its willingness to adopt alternative building technologies, prefabricated construction and flexible architecture. The building is made of wood which is a very healthy building material that “breathes”. It regulates humidity, absorbs noise and insulates. As a bio-based material, it is also an infinite resource and has a great performance in incorporated carbon: the building stores CO2 in its structure. So, rather than building with concrete and steel, wood has a positive effect on the climate. Other aspects of sustainability are green roofs, smart ventilation system, solar power, heat pump and the use of gray water for flushing toilets.

The building is designed to stand the test of time. The shelves can be replaced by audiovisual aids and hybrid forms of workspaces, reading and meeting. Through this investment in community infrastructure, the objective was to maintain the livability and viability of the historic center of Edegem as an inclusive place for all ages.

The Opening Statement. The Edegem Community Center is an opening statement and the next step in the wood revolution in Flanders. An open and transparent building requires original and innovative ideas for solar protection and temperature control. This is the reason why the so-called “Dutch climate facade” was applied to this building, as it uses passive solar energy. The sun visor is located in the air gap of the glazing and when there is too much sunlight, the sun visor is automatically lowered to limit solar gain. The warm air inside the air space is extracted through the ceiling and is distributed to other rooms during the winter months. During the summer, the hot air in the air gap is exhausted to the outside, which prevents heat gain. This simple solution allows the building to maintain and maximize its transparent aesthetic. The high ceilings also allow air to circulate and prevent overheating in the reading areas.

The large windows ensure that the building feels like an open, accessible and inclusive place. The refined wooden frame and facade are integrated into refined and minimal corner details that express a light, transparent yet intimate and human-centered monumental structure. A symbol of a welcoming and supportive local government that believes in a climate-positive future. The unconventional collaboration of the project team was defined by the Edegem Community Council and the “Vlaams Bouwmeester”. Following an open call, Marc Koehler Architect was commissioned in 2015 to design the library of the future.

Thanks to their support, an innovative design for a public building was realized. After the Ghent University Campus, the Health Sciences Building and the Loker Community Center, the Edegem Community Center is the third wooden cultural building designed by Marc Koehler Architects.