As a result of an architectural contest organised by the East Flanders province for the design of a temporary structure to promote Flemish regional products within the 'Groot Vleeshuis' (a historical building within the Ghent town centre), the architects Coussée & Goris designed a spacious glass volume of 50m long by 4m large. The 'rhythm' of this temperature building structure is adapted to the 'rhythm' of the historical 'Groot Vleeshuis'.

In the renovated part of the historical 'Groot Vleeshuis', the structure is supported by the vaults of the cellars in the 'Galgenhuis' (which is the part of the building where convicts where hanged in former days). While the remaining part of the building does not have any cellars below, a raft structure was used to support the glass volume, at the same time respecting the very strict archaeological constraints.

The temporary nature of the glass structure demanded for a design that could easily be dismantled. The architects therefore closely cooperated with the structural engineers to conceive an expressive building system that could simply be built up and dismantled like a LEGO system. For aesthetic reasons, all connections to the supporting structure had to be invisible to the visitors of the ‘Groot Vleeshuis’. The steel I-beams below the volume spanning the cellars minimize differential settlements, account for unavoidable level differences on the historical floor and make the volume appear as floating.

Promotion centre for Flemish regional products Ghent image 1

 

Structural Engineering Office Mouton

Mouton Structural Engineering Office originates from the professional activities of Guy Mouton, who started in 1976 to practice as an independent engineer-architect. Over the years, the core business gradually evolved from architectural design to structural design. As a result of this, Mouton Structural Engineering Office was formally established in 2002.

Mouton Structural Engineering Office is fully focused on structural design of steel, concrete and timber structures. The link with architectural design remains however remarkably present, as the office continues to strive for a close collaboration between all designers involved in a project. The result is invariably an optimal architectural design, respecting all imposed constraints. As a result, the Mouton Structural Engineering Office received several awards, and was also nominated for the prestigious Cultuurprijs Architectuur 2005 awarded by the Flemish government.

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