Survey on Cultural Heritage Adaptive Reuse practice
| Project Id | 3348 |
| Project Name | De Hoorn, Belgium |
| Description | De Hoorn is a former brewery in Leuven where in 1926 the beer Stella Artois was invented.The 1923 building was designed with great care for architectural detail, both in the interior and the exterior. Also the structural design was exceptional. A 5 meter high (floor high) Vierendeel structure (invented by the local Professor Vierendeel at the University of Leuven) was used to create a 20m wide free span in the main brewing hall underneath. Moreover, that same structure had to carry the load of all the materials in the silos above the main brewing hall. It was one of the first uses of this engineering principle within a building (Vierendeel Beam structures are mostly used in bridges). The building was heavily damaged during the bombardments of the Second World War and the original ‘Garret’ roof structure and the glazing were replaced by a more industrial architecture. It served as a brewery until the early ’80. |
| Description of the economic, social and environmental impacts of the project | In 2006, seven young and local creative and cultural entrepreneurs decide to buy and develop De Hoorn as a place that represents what their organisations stand for: an innovative, open meeting place where creativity, cross-breeding and entrepreneurship are key. A mixed program of offices spaces (solely for the creative economy), events spaces (mainly in the historic brewing rooms) and a Grand Cafe (bar/restaurant). The choice for events spaces and a restaurant restores the public importance of the building and offers interesting additions to the offices spaces for creative minds. For the restauration, the soft approach was chosen. Different procedures were experimented to steam wash the existing brick facades, the existing floors and walls. For the machineries, a new technique of ice blasting was used to remove all oil, dirt, without even removing the original paint on the cast iron engines or machinery. materials were reused and eco-solutions were implemented throughout the building. |
| Web links | http://www.dehoorn.eu |
| Country | Belgium |
| City size | Intermediate cities (between 50.000-1 million people) |
| Construction period | 4-Steel and cement |
| Adaptive reuse period | 2011-2015 |
| State of conservation | Medium conservation |
| Vacancy before | Vacant |
| Vacancy after | Permanently used |
| Cultural significance | Regional heritage| |
| Typologies | Productive (eg. craft, food)| |
| Ownership before | Private |
| Ownership after | Private |
| Management structure | The owner is also the manager| |
| Managing body | Private for profit| |
| Funding full answer | Public funding (National)|Public funding (Regional)|Public funding (Municipal)|Owner’s investment|Manager’s investment|Crowdfunding campaign| |
| Barriers and bottlenecks | Regulatory (e.g. heritage regulations / authorities)| |
| total investment | > 10.000.000 € |
| Residential | no |
| Cohousing | yes |
| Hotel accommodation | no |
| BnbHostel accommodation | no |
| Commercial units | yes |
| Wellness centres | no |
| Restaurant | yes |
| Cafe | yes |
| Public library | yes |
| Gardens | yes |
| Education | yes |
| Museum exhibition | yes |
| Research | yes |
| Cultural events | yes |
| Theatre | yes |
| Conferences | yes |
| Social uses | yes |
| Community Hubs | yes |
| Incubator | yes |
| Cultural and Creative Industries hub | yes |
| Innovative startups hub | yes |
| Circular economy enterprises hub | no |
| Coworking spaces | yes |
| Workshop spaces | yes |
| Living Lab | yes |
| Fab Lab | no |
| Creative Hub | yes |
| Artist residencies | yes |
| Materials bank | yes |
| Repair Cafe | yes |
| Bike sharing place | no |
| Sports facilities | yes |
| Other uses | yes |
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