Z33 House for Contemporary Art

Z33 House for Contemporary Art
© Gion Balthasar von Albertini

Z33 HOUSE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART

Francesca Torzo Architetto

CLIENT
Provincie Limburg & Z3

SERVICES ENGINEERING
Luca Pietro Gattoni

STABILITY
Conzett Bronzini Gartmann Ag

LOCAL TEAM
Abt Belgie Nv

MANUFACTURERS
Reynaers Aluminium, Erco, Ize, Knauf, Petersen Tegl, Weber, Asi Alpaco, Glansbeton, Imtech, Japo Hekwerken, Lahou & Boeckx, Prefaco, Schildersbedrijf Woutim, Twinplast, Vangrieken

CONTRACTOR
Thv Houben Belemco

PHOTOGRAPHS
Gion Balthasar Von Albertini

AREA
4664 m²

YEAR
2019

LOCATION
Hasselt, Belgium

CATEGORY
Gallery

Text description provided by architect.

The historic complex of Hasselt beguinage resembles an island in the urban fabric: the garden is enclosed by a wall of inhomogeneous brick buildings, to which the house for art belongs. 

Z33 House for Contemporary Art
© Gion Balthasar von Albertini
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
© Gion Balthasar von Albertini
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
© Gion Balthasar von Albertini

It is a place of rest, with a different sound from the bustling city center.

Z33 is one building made of two: the existing museum from 1958 and the extension.

The new building form responds to the context: towards the city it folds to accompany the street walkway; towards the garden it folds to welcome the garden in a niche, echoing the facade of the XIX century neighboring Gin factory.

Z33 House for Contemporary Art
© Gion Balthasar von Albertini
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
© Gion Balthasar von Albertini
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
© Gion Balthasar von Albertini

The new building reinterprets the expression of the XVIII century buildings, disposing an almost blind wall towards the street and displaying a score of windows towards the garden, and alike the 1958 museum it defines two levels for the public, where the level of entrance area blends the street level with the exhibition ground floor, raised up of 1 meter, and the garden level.

The facade chooses to be silent towards the street. It is a long joint less solid brick wall with few openings: 34.494 handmade bricks to be placed one by one on a facade of 60 meters long and 12 meters high, with only one dilatation joint at the folding.

The unit of measure of the context is the brick, as the rumble brick is the unit of Z33.

Z33 House for Contemporary Art
© Gion Balthasar von Albertini
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
© Gion Balthasar von Albertini
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
© Gion Balthasar von Albertini

The brick wall protects the quietness of the house for art and of the garden; it also acts as a background for the life of the city, for the shadows of walking people, of trees and urban lights.

The extension building is an ensemble of simple rooms that vary in size, proportion, and light atmosphere.

Z33 House for Contemporary Art
© Gion Balthasar von Albertini
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
© Gion Balthasar von Albertini

The rooms overlook each other, offering plural perspectives and views as it happens in a city.

The thresholds are the device that allows you to recognize the spatial sequences, then a time and a depth of the parcour, and finally to tune a perception of the different scales of the spaces.

Z33 House for Contemporary Art
© Gion Balthasar von Albertini
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
© Gion Balthasar von Albertini

The proportions of the thresholds regulate the gradients of exposure and intimacy, public and domestic; the detail of their trapezoidal shape dematerializes the wall, making the thresholds themselves more abstract.


Z33 House for Contemporary Art
© Gion Balthasar von Albertini
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
© Gion Balthasar von Albertini
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
© Gion Balthasar von Albertini
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
© Gion Balthasar von Albertini
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
© Gion Balthasar von Albertini
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
© Gion Balthasar von Albertini


Z33 House for Contemporary Art
Colored axo sketch
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
Colored axo sketch
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
Window sketch
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
Sketch
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
Sketch
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
Sketch


Z33 House for Contemporary Art
Facade sketch
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
Elevations


Z33 House for Contemporary Art
Detail
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
Window detail


Z33 House for Contemporary Art
Floor plan
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
Floor plan
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
Floor plan level 1


Z33 House for Contemporary Art
Ground floor plan
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
Site plan


Z33 House for Contemporary Art
Section


Z33 House for Contemporary Art
Sections
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
Sections
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
Sections
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
Sections
Z33 House for Contemporary Art
Sections

Z33 House for Contemporary Art
Brick diagram