After years of slow degradation, the historical city center of ghent was occupied by a desolate parking lot surrounded by three gothic spires, a situation that prompted the city to hold a competition to re-activate the space. local practice robbrecht en daem architecten in collaboration with marie-josé van hee architecten proposed somewhat of their own program, going beyond the competition brief to not only provide event space for the public but also reinstate the presence of the traditional architecture. occupying a site of 24,000 m2, the new 'market hall' mathematically derives it profile from the adjacent city hall and assumes a height equivalent to its neighboring structures - always lower than the surrounding towers as a way to indirectly call attention to their presence.
The overall form recalls the vernacular of the area and time, clad in natural wood tiles covered by a thin layer of glass that subtly reflects the sky on the surface. four large concrete columns hoist the steep-gabled canopy structure above the ground, creating a deep interior space lit from hundred of open silvers in the roof plan. the second level below contains a market place next to a green area, integrated with the multi-use hall above. rainwater is collected and reused with the program below, lending to a sustainable construction of local material and natural resource collection.