Design Museum Ghent
2019
In collaboration with Brussels–based architecture practice Czvek Rigby, Assemble were shortlisted for the competition to design an extension to existing galleries of the Design Museum Ghent.
The project takes the form of a new infill block, both completing the courtyard of existing buildings and creating a new facade along the historic street front of Drabstraat.
The new insertion connects existing spaces, improving circulation and flow through the museum, whilst also serving as an independent entrance and set of spaces in its own right.
The new building is conceived of as a large house: an accessible and welcoming building offering a range of differently scaled spaces with different characters, culminating on the top floors with an events space and public terrace overlooking the city.
An innovative, hybrid construction method of engineered timber frame with concrete floor slabs provides a more sustainable approach with the distinct materiality of the structure expressed within the interior spaces, providing an alternative to the "white cube" experience.