Community House

Community House Knokke-Heist

Community House

Knokke-Heist, Belgium

The Community House offers a unique solution to coastal density: instead of a monolithic tower, it features a clearly defined layering of homes, gardens, greenhouses, and shared spaces. Spanning 15 levels, the project encompasses 15,200 m² of mixed-use space and creates 19,000 m² of public space to preserve the historic market and provide parks, playgrounds, and event venues.

The project proposes vertical density while integrating the building into its low-rise context. To achieve this conceptually, surrounding housing typologies and stacked these layers to create a tower. Another major aspect that inspired the project’s architectural language was the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, Europe's second-largest container port, located directly adjacent to Knokke-Heist.

Opening onto the square, the ground floor connects the building to the city by housing a library, municipal services, shops, and community spaces. On the residential floors, shared greenhouses and common areas foster social cohesion and a sense of community ownership.

Environmentally responsible, the project combines natural ventilation, natural light through a central atrium, rainwater harvesting, and low energy consumption, meeting the strictest Belgian and European standards. Its rational structure and design logic allow it to adapt to changes in the program over time. It thus embodies a synthesis of density, urban quality, performance, and public service—a prototype for the future of Knokke-Heist.

Client City: of Knokke-Heist

Programme: Public spaces, 100 apartments, municipal urban planning and architecture department offices,library, toy library, polyvalent room, retail, multi-purpose hall 

Team: CAAP; B2ai (execution architect); Bollinger & Grohmann (concept

engineer); Sempervirens (concept landscape); Magic Monkey (lighting).

Photos: Roland Halbe