The former skippers’ quarter in Antwerp around Falconplein has a rich history. The most recent chapter focuses on housing, with a subtle key role for a project by 51N4E.

In the 14th century, Falco de Lampagne, a Florentine nobleman, founded a monastery in the centre of Antwerp. At the end of the 18th century, it was destroyed by fire and the domain came into the hands of the city. Napoleon had barracks built there in 1810, which were demolished before the Second World War. In 1954, the International Seamen’s Home opened its doors, a hotel for sailors designed by Paul Smekens and Hendrik Wittocx, which stood as a tall, detached volume on the site. Despite protests, that building was also demolished in 2013 because it did not seem to fit in with Rapp Rapp’s urban design, based on a structure of connected building blocks.