Community House

A colorful, 13-story community house rises just 300 meters from the beach, in the heart of Heist, a district of Knokke-Heist on the Belgian coast. It overlooks Maes and Boereboomplein, the central market square with the town hall and a multifunctional meeting center.

The building brings together previously separate functions, including public services, commercial spaces, 90 housing units, and recreational areas, into a single facility. Shaped as a hollow cube measuring 40 × 40 meters and 45 meters high, its basement houses a 250-space underground parking garage and a 150 m² multipurpose room for socio-cultural activities.

The new building was constructed using solid methods, incorporating composite reinforced concrete columns and slabs. The weight of the slabs was reduced by 25% through the use of lightweight elements. Three reinforced concrete cores provide lateral stability against wind loads, while cantilevered areas at the most critical locations are reinforced with steel beams.