The social role of the Church of the Blessed Sacrament, built in 1960 in the Groenenhoek district of Berchem (East Flanders), has stood the test of time and brought the community together. It is with this conviction that the church council, in collaboration with the City of Antwerp, has decided to redevelop the site by devising a mixed-use programme designed to bring people together once again. The team of architects from Polygoon and Rooilijn, in partnership with Cluster Landscape, won the competition to transform this sacred site into a public space.

The ambitious programme will include a crèche, a liturgical space, a food distribution centre and 16 social housing units. But the design goes beyond architecture and seeks to extend this social ambition to the development of green spaces, which are sorely lacking in the neighbourhood. At the front, a green public square reinforces the site’s public character.

The base housing the crèche is designed as an open-plan space. It opens widely outwards, enhancing interaction with the public space. On the façade, the variation in the masonry finish between the base and the upper part of the building distinguishes the public crèche from the social housing units. The liturgical space is connected to the housing, but its autonomous vertical volume stands out and fulfils its role as a landmark on the square by approximating the proportions of the original bell tower. At the junction between the two volumes, a canopy marks the entrance to the prayer hall and the food distribution area.

The project thus tackles the ambitious challenge of bringing together two volumes with functions that do not naturally coexist at first glance. The convergence of these two worlds questions the relationship with the community and the place of the liturgical space in contemporary public life.