In the south of the Antwerp port area, VK architects+engineers is realising a fifth expansion at the Boortmalt site, part of the Axéréal group. This includes a Learning & Experience Center.
The new building houses the R&D department and consists of a small brewery, laboratories and a visitor centre. In this way, the numerous customers, mainly breweries, can actively contribute to the future of the sector. Axéréal wants to make the Learning & Experience Center of Boortmalt Antwerp the showpiece and calling card of the group.
Stacked containers
The extra malt tower and 24 new silos that will be built are functional buildings, where the technical aspects predominate. At the Learning & Experience Center, on the other hand, the architectural appearance is important. Particularly the exterior of the building is special. It refers to stacked containers, with their colourful surfaces of the same dimensions. No coincidence, because the Learning & Experience Center is located next to a muffled quay that is used for the storage of containers. The offices of the centre are equipped with 6-metre-long windows and high fire-resistant windows that create a maximum view of the production area and test installations.
Continuity
VK has been Boortmalt's engineering partner since 1987. Continuity is the fruit of a good partnership. After building phases I (1987), II, (1991), III (2002) and IV (2009), VK was allowed to design the master plan for the further expansion of the site, of which the Learning & Experience Center forms part. VK thus provides all services for the fifth expansion: architecture, infrastructure, M&E engineering and structural engineering. The works completed, Boortmalt's Antwerp site is the world's largest malt production centre. Its location in the port makes the complex a multimodal logistics hub.