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his is especially vivid in August. Historic structure, beautiful bones, a discreet
but evident charisma—it was the ideally visioned canvas from the start. The
building's significance to the community and to history as a whole mandated
a thoughtful and precise interference. The challenge, Van Duysen notes, is "to design
without too much ostentation within this type of building that already has a strong
identity. There are elements which are part of an existing aesthetic that determines
the kind of style I have to pick up on, yet I still needed to design a hotel that has
its own unique features that make it different from any other hotel." A hotel whose
architecture supported a former military hospital and, within, a convent that once
housed the nuns who ministered wounded soldiers.
With the restoration of the building's
neoclassical grandeur completed in
collaboration with Wouter Callebaut
Architecten, Van Duysen added
contemporary architectural elements to
upgrade the premises to function afresh
as a modern hotel. Black, therefore, is
a protagonist used to distinguish classic
and contemporary elements. Notably
at the hotel entrance, where a structure
of black steel forms a stark contrast to
the red brick facade. "This is an allusion
to the glass roofs that once covered
the terraces of the hospital pavilions,"
notes Van Duysen. Respecting 19th-
century traditions, fixtures and fittings
were tailor-made by Nijboer, lighting
is by Flos and furniture by Vincent Van
Duysen for Molteni&C. "This results in
an interior with some traditional forms
but in a modern way, where everything
