05.05.2023

Sunday 7 May is 'Open Wervendag' in Belgium. Among the places open to the public for the day will be the construction dock for the Scheldt tunnel in Zeebrugge and the building site of the venue building in Middelkerke. In Middelkerke the contours of the new venue building are rising rapidly. Architectural studio ZJA visited the building site at the end of March. The excursion was a beautiful shared experience, leaving us with lots of inspiration and a number of impressive images.

Aida Chalak (junior architect at ZJA) says, ‘As an architect, it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day tasks of designing and planning. But taking the time to step away from the desk and explore the world around us, and to see the projects we are working on in real life, is crucial to our creative process. More than that, the excursion to Middelkerke was a great bonding experience for our team. It was a reminder of the power of collaboration and how being part of a supportive team can help us grow both personally and professionally.’

Beacon on the Flemish coast
The iconic venue building will be integrated into a renewed sea wall and dune landscape, which will rewrite the historic relationship of the seaside resort with the sea. As a member of Bouwteam Nautilus, ZJA - in collaboration with OZ, DELVA Landscape Architects and Bureau Bouwtechniek - was responsible for the design.

New public space
The design strengthens the sea dike and makes it car-free, while helping to improve the quality of public space. The seawall and the Epernayplein will soon form a single whole. The project is expected to be completed by the end of this year. We are eager to see it.

Client venue building Middelkerke: The municipality of Middelkerke
The Nautilus consortium is a collaboration between developer Debuild, chief designers ZJA (architecture) and DELVA (landscape architecture), OZ (casino and hotel design) and Bureau Bouwtechniek (execution architect), contractors Furnibo and Democo. They are assisted by experts from COBE, VK Engineering, Beersnielsen, Witteveen+Bos, Plantec, MINT and Sertius.