Beguinages are traditionally places of contemplation. They were refuges for women who, without having taken vows, wished to live in a religious community away from the hustle and bustle of the city, beyond the city walls. The conversion of the 18th-century beguinage in Hasselt by Bovenbouw, in collaboration with David Kohn, breaks with the intimacy that characterises such places. It will now house the Faculty of Architecture and Art of Hasselt University, opening up this hidden world in the heart of the city centre to the public.

A striking circular passageway crosses the brick enclosure that for so long isolated the beguinage from the city. This opening is an invitation to take a first look at the new world. The Hasselt beguinage is not a closed world of calm and meditation, but a place of encounter and connection. The garden has been transformed into a green oasis that brings together Hasselt University, the Z33 art house and the Jenever Museum in a shared campus. A campus that blends into the city.