In a compact inner area, hidden behind the residential buildings in Antwerp’s Zuid district, Poot Architectuur renovated one of the two wings of a school building designed by city architect Alexis Van Mechelen in 1905. The interior reflects the architects’ careful approach and the extent to which they restored and enhanced the qualities of the existing building with their design.

Sarah Poot is waiting for me in the hall of the western wing of the school in Kasteelstraat, which Poot Architectuur transformed into an urban secondary school for 240 pupils on behalf of AG Vespa. Above the entrance in the inconspicuous eclectic façade, which is only one row of houses wide, is the inscription ‘jongensgemeenteschool’ (boys’ municipal school). The 1905 design is by the then Antwerp city architect Alexis Van Mechelen, who is known for, among other things, the Flemish Opera and the city festival hall on the Meir. Van Mechelen fitted the school building in behind the surrounding houses and created two triangular playgrounds on the inside of the building. As is often the case with school buildings, the original spatial qualities were lost over the years due to renovations and extensions and infill developments. Poot Architectuur’s first intervention was therefore to remove elements and reveal the original qualities of the school.