Our office building on Zirkstraat, Antwerp has received an honorable mention at the BILT Ghent architecture competition whose 2026 theme was “Binnenste Buiten” (Inside Out). The award ceremony took place last Saturday on October 10th and was given to our colleague Maria Cànoves who participated in the event.
The jury saw the project above all as an ecological statement: a building that is also a habitat for birds, bees and butterflies. They wondered what would happen if more densely built urban plots approached their outdoor space in the same way.
Zirkstraat is our own office building, with Woonwerk Antwerpen occupying the ground floor and basement, and two apartments occupy the floors above. The building is a renovation of a fully built-up plot with no back garden used as a garage and storage building. The building was completely stripped and brought up to meet new building standards. It was fitted with geothermal energy, ventilation with heat recovery and a new lift (in an existing shaft), making every apartment wheelchair accessible. We carried the outdoor space into the building itself: a façade garden with a tree, lush greenery covering the full height of the façade, two patios and a roof garden with an orchard.
