Knowledge Centre combines sustainability with striking design

This striking building, which was opened this year in the centre of the Flemish city of Roeselare and features several bespoke Reynaers’ systems, has already won a host of awards.

The Knowledge Centre Arhus – meaning ‘open house’ – is a public information forum and meeting place. It houses the city’s library and archive, as well as teaching facilities and meeting rooms, offices and social spaces.

Designed by architects BURO ll & ARCH+l, the building makes extensive use of Reynaers’ CW 50 curtain wall system, in both its standard form and with complex bespoke solutions, in order to accommodate the extensive use of glass on the project. The façade incorporates hundreds of diagonal sections as a stylish feature of the building’s design.

A key part of the city’s regeneration, the building is based on an old bank, but only retains the original concrete structure. As part of the dynamic concept, three different types of glass make up the façade with clear and green glass and a third white glass panel positioned approximately 12cm further forward. This gives a sense of greater depth to the curtain wall, which covers an area of 2,700m2.

Head of Marketing at Reynaers Hugh Moss said: “The Knowledge Centre has won a number of awards, including the Benelux Aluminium Award, for its exceptionally sustainable renovation, and the Joinery Award, thanks to excellent execution and exceptional technical challenges.

“We’re very proud that both our products and technical team have helped to contribute to this award-winning building.”

The façade’s complexity meant that the fabricators on the project – De Witte Aluminiumconstructies NV – worked in collaboration with Reynaers on the development of bespoke solutions to achieve the desired effect. These included T-shaped face caps for the enamelled white glass, special mounting brackets and flat face caps for the CW 50 transoms.

As the façade featured several complex junctions, critical for effectively draining water, the fabricators produced a mock-up of part of the curtain wall on the building, in which all of the diagonal details and glass types were included.

Reynaers high insulation doors and windows CS 86-HI and CS 86-HI/HV were also included on the project, to complement the building’s external envelope, along with sliding systems CP 155. The main contractor on the project was Stabag Belgium NV, Region West.