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Provincial Court

Brugge, Belgium, Europe

Sector Historic Sites
Client Provincie West-Vlaanderen, 8000 Brugge, BE
Architect Felt Architectuur & Design bvba, Forelstraat 55 bus B, 9000 Gent (BE)
Intervention Renovation
Scope Study and following up MEP
Project status in design
Study January 2019 - April 2021

Sustainable Features

water management
water management
reuse rainwater
reuse rainwater
natural ventilation
natural ventilation

The Provincial Court in Bruges is being restored and renovated. The iconic building on the ‘Markt’ dates back to 1892, but after the works it will be future-proof for at least 100 years.

 

The new tourist information point will be located here and various meeting and conference facilities will be provided. Together with the construction of the new congress building on ‘Beursplein’ and the expansion of parking lot ‘t Zand’, Bruges will not only gain recognition as a hotspot for tourists, but also for business.

 

To bring any monument of historical, cultural, political or architectural value into the 21st century, it is of the utmost importance to integrate sustainable techniques in order to preserve it and limit its energy and operating costs. When the function of a monument is changed to for example a museum, office or residential space or even a hotel, it is necessary to work with sectors and agencies with the necessary expertise to preserve and embrace the historic value and cultural heritage of the monument.

 

In a first phase the roof and façade of the provincial court will be renovated, as well as the building envelope that will be optimised. This means that the air tightness will increase. Later on, the technical works will follow, these will consist of

– installation and renovation of several lifts

– renovation of the sewage system, connection to urban sewage system

– renovation of the heating system with integration of low-temperature underfloor heating

– relighting of historical chandeliers with LED lighting

– renovation of the entire electrical installation with respect for the monument

– completely new fire safety installation and emergency lighting

– implementation of techniques for catering

– integration of public toilets in the building

 

Another cost-saving measure is good water management, including the use of rainwater for the toilets.