De Hoorn
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
Category
Project Description
De Hoorn, officially recognized as a heritage monument, is the place where in 1926 the first Stella Artois was brewed. Abandoned for 20 years, it was brought to life again by a group of local people and transformed into a 12.000 m² creative hotspot and public hub. It has become an omni-use complex with 500 workspaces, a bar and restaurant, event and meeting facilities and a short-term co-housing residency.
It contributed to developing a creative community with cross-fertilization at its heart.
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Which funds
Other Funds
European Fund For Regional Development
Priority 1, Operational Objective 5, call nr. 30, Project 478, Hybrid Ventilation @ Creative Minds
Description of the project
Summary
Not so long ago, De Hoorn was an abandoned and seemingly commercially undevelopable building. It was and still is, however, an iconic site. It includes the former Artois brewery that was built in 1923 and became in 1926 the birthplace of Stella Artois, today a world renowned brand and a source of pride in Leuven. Additional brewery lines were added after WWII, but eventually the activities moved to a modern factory nearby and during many years the place was deserted. It became an officially recognized heritage monument, but closed to the public and neglected. Today, De Hoorn is a vibrant and multifunctional creative hub with workspace for 500 people in a new type of working environment that offers tailor-made solutions, and opportunities for networking and learning, a bar and restaurant, meeting and event facilities as well as co-housing apartments for short-stay renting. It is in fact a omni-use complex where people can live, work, relax and play in the same seamless connected environment.
The emblematic spot came to life thanks to the efforts of young local entrepreneurs, who managed to buy the space in 2007 and transform it into a viable project with respect for the very diverse historical spaces. The 2007 financial crisis forced the initiators to split the project in two phases. This setback actually allowed to learn from the experiences gained between the start of the operations in 2012 and the start of the construction of phase 2 in 2018. Co-creative workshops and surveys with the users transformed the construction programme for the expansion, that was finalised in early 2020. In the spirit of the New European Bauhaus the past was reshaped into something future-oriented. De Hoorn integrates sustainable techniques with a lot of attention to art and aesthetics. Numerous local craftsmen and artists were involved in the interior design to beautify the building. The project received several awards to recognise the outstanding heritage conservation initiative.
Key objectives for sustainability
De Hoorn is 100% privately owned by local entrepreneurs, who know about the local community and do not see short-term profitmaking as their priority. It integrates beautifully all 4 pillars of a fully-fledged sustainable development: environmental, but also economic, social and cultural. First, the project not only reuses space and brings it to life, it has also kick-started the redevelopment of a former inner city industrial neighbourhood. It aimed for the highest possible sustainable renovation methods. There are 3 solar power installations, tanks for 130.000l of rain water, thick insulation packages and an experimental hybrid ventilation system. This is a high tech system that measures temperatures and CO2 levels and uses the building mass to regulate heating and ventilation without air condition. Space is reserved to connect to a (possible) future city heating grid using rest heath from the new brewery nearby. Second, economically, De Hoorn shapes an inspiring and ultra-diverse working environment. The architecture stimulates informal gatherings and cross-fertilization, reinforced by a range of networking and learning activities organised by De Hoorn. This often results in new common business projects, thereby creating jobs close to where people live. Increasingly, business activities are oriented towards creating positive impact on climate and our society. Third, the restaurant started as a social economy project with on-the-job training for vulnerable people such as refugees. De Hoorn co-founded the neighborhood’s district committee and triggered the creation of a pop-up park on a piece of vacant land, with local artists and a local social organization. Finally, culturally, De Hoorn co-created the Leuven Innovation Beer festival and designed a Heritage Trail in the building explaining history and process of making beer. Several local artists were involved in the interior design.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
The transformation of an abandoned, iconic building was important in itself, but it also enabled the Leuven community and the wider public to reappropriate a part of the local history, its long beer tradition, and link it to futureproof activities. The designers chose to articulate and activate the historic ‘grandeur’ of the industrial spaces with a mix of brutalist interventions (opening and connecting different spaces) on the one hand and subtle and tangible design interventions on the other hand, to create a contemporary and mind blowing aesthetic combination. Natural light was brought in everywhere and the architecture stimulates informal gatherings and cross-fertilization with its multitude of cosy corners, patios and meeting rooms spread all over the building. Importantly, the process to guide the architects, especially when preparing the expansion of the second phase and rethinking the business model, was very much co-creative with the well-being of the users in mind. All (!) users were asked to give input for the design brief, resulting in additional shared facilities (showers, bike facilities, changing rooms, extra acoustic insulation and even a breast feeding room for young mothers) and services. Fresh fruit is now also included in the pricing, and regular events, sport activities or lectures are organized based on the continuous input of the users. The project therefore resulted not only in a beautiful building. It also fostered the creation of a community, in close interaction with the wider public that enjoys De Hoorn by using its meeting and event facilities, or its bar and restaurant. The project won several architectural awards such as the Leuven architectural award and the prestigious Europa Nostra Award for Cultural Heritage 2016 (not financial). De Hoorn used local craftsman for the execution of the interior design and works from more than 20 new local artist are being displayed on a rotating basis, creating an oasis of visual inspiration.
Key objectives for inclusion
This very ambitious project was developed by local people without a professional real estate developer. Two key objectives were (1) to create Leuven’s creative industry flagship-initiative for local entrepreneurs and (2) to give this iconic building back to the (diverse) local and wider public, making it a multi-functional public hub with a wide range of possibilities. With 500 workspaces for mostly starting companies and more than 100.000 visitors per year, the early results exceeded the expectations. Once the COVID-19 crisis is behind us, the place can grow to its full potential. By creating a co-creative membership model that gives freelancers and small companies access to a vast network of shared spaces and services they care about, De Hoorn enables them to work in the best possible circumstances and flourish further, at an affordable rate. In parallel, De Hoorn wants to embed the project in the local neighbourhood to counterbalance gentrifying elements (which can never be fully erased). The fact that some of the co-owners of De Hoorn are also users, translated in a totally different behaviour than can be expected from traditional real estate developers with a short term mind-set in their relation with the neighbourhood. A number of actions with impact for the local stakeholders were developed, e.g. the creation of a (temporary) public park together with local artists and a local community centre. De Hoorn is also actively involved in neighbourhood networks and does host some initiatives for free. As mentioned, De Hoorn also ran a social economy project with on-the-job training for vulnerable people such as refugees in the restaurant. Even though the project stopped after three years, several of the trainees are still employed as permanent staff. Finally, despite the fact that the project is about transforming a heritage monument, we managed to make all spaces accessible for people with reduced mobility.
Results in relation to category
De Hoorn’s characteristics are very much place-based. By taking advantage of the specificities of the heritage building, complemented with the right architectural interventions and additional new spaces, De Hoorn was able to design a viable business model with a unique mixture of activities and services that reinforce each other. We mentioned before how it has developed into a workspace for 500 people, creative hotspot and public hub where thousands of people come to meet for work or to enjoy their free time. It is a good example of what is called the ‘upstream model’ that states that cultural heritage can make a far bigger contribution to sustainable development if we use the specificity of that cultural heritage as a cantilever in ongoing processes of economic, social, cultural and environmental development. The (traditional) downstream model states that a classically earmarked heritage investment has indeed a high likelihood to contribute to sustainable development. The restauration of a church creates job opportunities for builders, and restores social and cultural values. By re-using an existing building, it’s very likely that we consume less resources. But, in this model we don’t use non-heritage resources to contribute to the cultural heritage. The contribution of the adaptive reuse towards sustainable development and the business model is not very strategic. In the ‘upstream model’, non-heritage resources are used to contribute to the cultural heritage in a system of shared value creation. In other words, De Hoorn manages to attract ‘non-heritage earmarked’ revenues needed to finance the whole project, and by doing so also increases the attractiveness of the heritage itself, for the user and the wider society. Beyond its direct impact, De Hoorn contributes widely to the redevelopment of the former industrial neighbourhood and also to a strategic reflection at city-level that resulted in the creation of network platform for the creative industry in Leuven.
How Citizens benefit
De Hoorn is in itself a community of very different users, ranging from people who have their workspace there or live temporarily in one of the co-housing apartments, to the occasional visitor from the neighbourhood and beyond who enjoys a networking event, family gathering or just a drink with friends in the bar. For the Leuven community it therefore has become a public hotspot and meeting place where one can keep discovering new things. Before the COVID-19 crisis and before fully enjoying the additional features of the second phase of our project, De Hoorn hosted over 100.000 visitors every year (mainly bar, restaurant and event users). This number is likely to grow further in the coming years. The restauration and expansion of the iconic building that was abandoned during so many years, also meant that the old brewery and birthplace of Stella Artois, a source of pride for many citizens in Leuven, is visible and accessible again for everyone. But De Hoorn is itself also connected to the wider Leuven community. By developing this hub, De Hoorn stimulated the creation of a growing network of creative entrepreneurs in Leuven (start-ups, scale-ups, established companies) that is also involved in the further fine-tuning of its model. De Hoorn was also a founding member of Leuven Mindgate, an organisation created in 2016 to promote Leuven as the frontrunner for innovation in Health, High Tech and Creativity. By hosting short term cohousing space, it facilitates social integration and enhances the cross breeding between international and local entrepreneurs. By hosting lectures and other networking activities, it stimulates co-creation and cross-fertilization, not only for those working in De Hoorn. De Hoorn has also always been actively engaged to create a neighbourhood network with different local organisations and neighbours. This resulted in foundation of the neighbourhood’s district committee and occasional activities organised together.
Innovative character
De Hoorn can be described as an experiment in city making, with a human and experience-driven focus on innovation. Fancy workspace with co-working and meeting facilities, and a bar or restaurant is a model that is gaining traction in cities everywhere in Europe. De Hoorn’s mix of functions, however, goes a step further. Against all practical constraints, the project aimed for an extremely mixed use and a 24/7 experience. Not only does it include a wider variety of functions, such as event facilities spread all-over the building and co-housing apartments for short-stay renting, De Hoorn also developed a membership model that allows the users to co-create some features of the services on offer (e.g. learning activities with lectures or yoga and sport sessions). In addition, the different segments are not operating in isolation but closely integrated: a person staying in one of the apartments will be able to use the meeting rooms or any other services offered by De Hoorn. If this person happens to be a brilliant expert on climate, he/she will be asked to give a lecture to the community. Thanks to these unique characteristics, the community that is being developed is not a closed one, shielded from the outside world, but one that is in continuous interaction with a broad variety of external visitors, making De Hoorn an open space and a truly public hub. From a technical point, some of the solutions for the building in terms of architecture and sustainability are ground-breaking, including an experimental hybrid ventilation system. This is a high tech system that measures temperatures and CO2 levels in all spaces and uses the building mass to regulate heating and ventilation without air condition. Space is reserved to connect to a (possible) future city heating grid using rest heath from the new brewery nearby. Finally, it is fair to say that developing such a 100% private, 23 million euro project without a commercial real estate developer, is innovative in itself.
