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AB & Vuylsteke along the coast: Eiffage Benelux's subsidiaries shape the coastline with the virtuous Heldentoren tower

16.11.2020
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AB & Vuylsteke along the coast: Eiffage Benelux's subsidiaries shape the coastline with the virtuous Heldentoren tower

While AB is still building «De Branding» in Cadzand and «La Rive» in Knokke-Heist on behalf of the Compagnie het Zoute, the next prestigious coastal project «Heldentoren» is already on the horizon in this same city located north of Bruges.

Work on this small 70-metre high architectural pearl began in October and will be carried out in a joint venture between AB and Vuylsteke, two subsidiaries of Eiffage Benelux, for a total of 26 million euros. With its 20 floors, it will be one of the tallest buildings on the Belgian coast.

This future Knokke-Heist business card was commissioned by SA Heldentoren to be developed by the Belgian-Dutch architectural firm Neutelings Riedijk Architects, which had previously designed the MAS museum in Antwerp. The tower is built on the site of the famous Grand Hotel – Casino Kursaal, the historic tourism engine in Knokke-Heist, and is part of the general ambition to give a new look to the entrance to the seaside town. The surrounding streets and boulevards (the Heldenplein, the Vissershuldeplein and the Elizabetlaan) will be redesigned and transformed into a pleasant pedestrian boulevard.

The waving volume of the building, sometimes convex, sometimes concave, catches the eye of passers-by to make them discover the magnificent view of the North Sea. The sculptural tower becomes more and more slender by gaining height. Its rounded glass corners offer the apartments a magnificent view of the sea. To reinforce this effect of space, the living rooms located at the corners of the building have a ceiling twice as high.

Geothermal energy will be used in this prestigious and impressive operation, for efficient energy management, and limit the impact of its consumption.

The sale of the apartments started this summer by the promoter SALT & dvlp. and preparations for the start of construction are in full swing.

One thing is certain: the coast is increasingly wearing the red colour of Eiffage.

Photo credits: Neutelings Riedijk Architects and SALT & dvlp.