Ilôt Desclée

Programme: On the outskirts of Tournai are the former Desclée establishments built in the 1920s.Known as the Campin printing house since the 90s, the site has remained abandoned. The Ilôt Desclée consists in the rehabilitation of the site in 105 housing units, the place is pleasant to live, attractive, looking towards the future. A facelift highlights the preserved parts, the air, the complete new constructions forming a homogeneous set marking epochs and functions

About: Given the magnitude of the task, the site was divided into 3 phases. The 1st, symbolically the most significant, renovated the printing house with a touch of modernity while retaining the character of the buildings. In the industrial wings, lofts of one or two levels were created in each shed. The facades have retained their distinctive elements of red bricks, lines of white decoration, slightly arched windows, beef eyes. Each loft received an outdoor space, garden, patio or terrace. For the two administrative wings, of neoclassical inspiration, the facades have been repainted in white to distinguish them from their industrial counterparts. Balconies on the courtyard were added, thus contributing to the bias of offering an outdoor space to each accommodation. A cross greenhouse inscribed between a series of lime trees allows to mitigate the vis-à-vis by focusing the attention, it will serve all the inhabitants. The second phase of work concerned the construction of the buildings erected on either side of a central alley comprising a pedestrian, trees, as well as the old chimney of the factory. These buildings have 3 levels and here also the apartments have a private area or a balcony. The third and most recent phase concerns the renovation of the classical masonry building and the wood-frame construction. The latter uses the same architectural language of sheds as the original printing press.