The new wing of the Photography Museum is hidden within a traditional block of houses. It’s situated in the park of the former Carmelite convent, where the Museum has thrived since its creation in 1987. This location appeared as a unique opportunity to enhance the public institutions surrounding the park (a public school and a sports complex) by making the park a public space.

Given the architectural design’s limits - the garden walls - a permanent interaction takes place between the inside and outside spaces. This creates a kind of ‘in-between space’ or ‘interspace’. The cantilever for instance integrates the landscape in the hollow of the building. It forces the visitor to look up when approaching the new wing and allows to perceive the light and colour that plays in the façade.

The new wing is the third phase of the collaboration between the Photography museum and L’Escaut. The first one, erected in 1995 consisted of the coordination of artist interventions within the renovation of the convent. The second one, executed  in 2002 permitted to transform the old stables into residences for artists. The new wing was already foreseen in 1995 ; the project has thus had the time to evolve and to mature, which is an extraordinary opportunity within current architecture production logics.

Client: Belgian French Community (Communauté française de Belgique)
Structure: bureau d’études Weinand
Fluids: SECA
Acoustics: Rémi Raskin
Landscaping: LandinZicht - Bjorn Gielen
Artist: Jeanine Cohen
Signage: Designlab
Built surface including the carmelite convent: 8230 m2
Surface without storage space : 4700 m2
Exhibition space (carmelite convent + new wing): 2175 m2
Budget: 3 400 000 Eur. Without VAT
Completion: May 2008
Awards:
Mies van der Rohe Awards 2009: Nominated
Prix d’Architecture du Hainaut 2008: Special Cultural Award
Belgian Building Awards 2009: Heritage Award