In this project beSteel increased two levels on top of this historical building at the Vogeltjesmarkt in Antwerp (BE), using our steelframe solutions. We covered our steelframes with a colourful jacket by graphic designer Davi Giolo, to raise awareness for alternative building methods to solve the housing shortage in cities.
The design and the expression #manybirdsfewnests, bridges the challenge in nature where animals are also constantly looking for a new habitat on the one hand and the demographic challenges faced by a city like Antwerp on the other hand. Space is limited and steel frame construction offers a sustainable answer.
To solve the housing shortage and still keep our cities liveable, we will have to build vertically much more than we do today. A steelframe superstructure is a way to do that very quickly and efficiently, without having to eliminate open space.
Building with steelframe is also a circular way of building, we can completely reuse the steel structure. By moving the construction process from the traditional building site to a factory environment, we drastically reduce the CO2 emissions of new homes. For example, we have hardly any construction waste and also only one transport to and from the site.
Steelframe offers the highest strength to weight ratio and is therefore much lighter than other materials such as concrete and wood. Because of its lightweight, steelframe has the smallest impact on the existing building’s foundation compared to other materials.
With this project we hope to inspire and convince our future customers to build with steelframe of beSteel.
PROJECT IN A NUTSHELL:
- Architect: Roel Vermeersch – KAP32
- Engineer: Ben Verbeeck
- Contractor: Themaco
- Location: Nieuwstad, Antwerpen (BE)
- Year of execution: 2023
- Project type: Elevation
FOR MORE REFERENCES:
https://m.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20230526_97829584
https://www.hln.be/antwerpen/streetartproject-siert-theaterplein~a5cf1b0e/
https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20230526_94868599
Interested to collaborate with us on your next steelframe project?