Laureate: Bulk Architecten cvba, Studio Jan Vermeulen

The study and design assignment for the new offices for the service association Dender, Durme, Schelde and the waste intermunicipal association Verko in Dendermonde was awarded to the temporary association Bulk Architecten cvba / Studio Jan Vermeulen with in subcontract: Cluster landscape & urban planning, Dirk Jaspaert B.A.S., IRS Studiebureau, Bureau Bouwtechniek, Bureau De Fonseca.

DDS and Verko want a new office building that not only acts as a visible landmark for the (re)development of the entire company site, but also expresses the new operation and vision of both intermunicipal companies, in which sustainable energy and ditto use of space are paramount.

Bulk/Vermeulen's proposal is a start for a mild form of densification and urbanity. The designers leave room for development of greenery and water. The elongated volume of the new headquarters self-consciously takes its place next to the Breker to form a compact cluster. With its longitudinal orientation and slender profile, the building takes on many faces and towers over the existing structures and the dike as a benchmark. 

The project forms an organ point that reorganises the site and emphasises the cooperation between the existing entities on the site. The new building and the waste sorting shed Breker are linked by an entrance pavilion that, together with the multipurpose room, forms a new common ground: a forum, an invitation to enter, participate and stay. The building's plinth provides opportunities and incentives for encounters, informal exchanges and diverse uses. It depicts the renewed operations of DDS-Verko.

The building will play a pioneering role in what we call the new working landscape, as a generous shell, capable of accommodating many programmes in time. The compact building also takes an ambitious stance on sustainable construction. It integrates circular construction principles and uses new materials based on local biological waste.