Sailing Club in Zeebrugge
- Burkhard Franke
This small new structure of the Royal Belgian Sailing Club stands on a peninsula in the harbour of Zeebrugge. Since the building had to be erected within approximately 100 working days during the club’s winter break, the architects decided in favour of prefabrication of the elements. The single-storey cubic structure is clearly articulated. Solid timber walls form a square inner space spanned on top by beams in a cruciform layout that cantilever out on all sides. This wooden core, consisting of glued, laminated members stacked on site, is enclosed within a peripheral steel-and-glass facade that extends up to form a balustrade around the roof terrace. Between the core and the facade layer is an unheated buffer zone that can be opened to the internal and external space, allowing a flexible control of the indoor climate. All wooden elements were notched at works to allow the creation of tongued-and-grooved connections. Shrinkage and expansion of the wood cause vertical movement of up to 6 cm at the edge of the roof, necessitating a sliding connection of the facade, which stands on the floor slab. In comparision with the slender facade sections, the timber structure might seem overdimensioned, but it was calculated to bear the wind loads of two masts with turbines – not yet installed. These will complete the complex climatic concept and also lend the building a symbolic character appropriate to its location.
