Heritage is often a stumbling block when it comes to affordable housing. Energy-efficiënt renovations, repair works, maintenance… They all contribute to a high cost. This encourages research into other ways to use and exploit our architectural heritage.
An example of high cost heritage in Leuven is the ‘King Albertbuilding’ from Léon Stynen, providing units for the social housing company Dijledal. The building was renovated in the ‘90s, giving it a new glass facade for better thermal insulation, reducing the energy cost for each unit. Although it did lower the cost, it also largely took away the character of the building due to which it is considered heritage. And unfortunately, the thermal properties weren’t the only problems with the building. Poor acoustic insulation between units and a limited ceiling height are today the main reasons why Dijledal wants to demolish the architectural heritage. The decision to opt for demolishion and to build a new social housing block is very understandable, taking the dramatic acoustics into account while the ceiling hight is already limited so there’s not much room for improvement.
But surely there must be other options than the demolishion of this architectural heritage.
When it doesn’t meet the standards for social housing today, maybe it shouldn’t be used for social housing anymore. The square around the building provides enough space for new structures to accommodate even more people then there are living now in the King
Albertbuilding while the concrete structure can accommodate other functions needed in the sociaty which might even related to co-housing. Re-use of this heritage would not only be amore affordable way, but also a more environmentally friendly.
Adriaan Vandaele
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