Katoen Natie, Antwerp, Belgium

An extraordinary play of light is to be found in two of the former harbour warehouses that accommodate the Ka­toennatie in Antwerp. In one of them, domes in alabaster and leaded glass function as new skylights – designed by the Spanish artist Cristina Iglesias – and on top of the other is a roof of wooden slats through which sunlight slips in many layers. A new four-storey building connects the former warehouses. The ensemble of old and new buildings contains offices, conference and reception rooms and a museum of Coptic textiles.
Client
Katoen Natie
Architects
Robbrecht en Daem architecten
Program
transformation of former harbour warehouses into offices and museum
Location
Antwerp, Belgium
Date
1992–2000
Status
Completed
Floor Area
4.700 m2
Team
Paul Robbrecht, Hilde Daem, Frank De Baere, Caroline Vanbiervliet, Asli Çiçek
Art Intervention
Cristina Iglesias
Structural Engineering
Arcade, Herman Mortelmans
Services Engineering
Jan D'Hondt