OFFICE 231

The Destelheide youth retreat was designed by the Belgian modernist architect Paul Felix in the late 1960s as an array of several buildings along a green slope. The competition project called for the addition of a new dormitory and a residential pavilion to the complex. The dormitory is formed of two cubic volumes that are connected at the corners and complete the linear arrangement of the existing buildings. A triangular canopy marks the entrance at the junction of the two volumes. The plan is composed of alternating strips of rooms and servant spaces that include stairs, toilets and storage. The rooms, which are identical in size, serve either as dorm rooms or as common spaces that enable access to the dorms, in place of long corridors. The residential pavilion, on the other hand, is detached and positioned on the slope. Its cubic volume is similar, but its plan organisation slightly different: the ground floor is given over to communal areas, and there is a public roof terrace. All rooms establish a direct relationship with the landscape. Wide strip windows and terraces are orientated south. A panelling of perforated sunshades prevents overheating and animates the facades. As a nod to the uniform materiality of the existing buildings, the new buildings also use a single material – this time, solid wood rather than concrete.