A 24-storey residential tower block is being constructed in Antwerp’s Nieuw Zuid area on the river Schelde, with the aim of redefining the multi-storey block as a social, vertical community.

In classical multi-storey buildings it’s often a challenge to any sense of community that you only meet your neighbours in the lift or lobby. The aim with the tower block is to break with the traditional multi-storey building trends, which isolate residents. Using a wide range of architectural features the tower block creates a sustainable, collectively-oriented community. The tower block is characterised by diversity where social encounters are facilitated without sacrificing the need for a private life.

The tower block includes many different types of housingfor a varied mix of residents, from small shared flatssuitable for students, to larger family homes and live-work homes. Besides apartments the tower block includes shops, office space and communal facilities.

A grid sub-divides the tower’s façades into smaller units. The units consist of five flat’s private balconies, which are staggered in relation to each other in a way that gives a sense of intimate neighbourliness across the storeys, with the opportunity for both privacy and social interaction. There is 4.000 m2 of extra space comprising terraces, winter gardens and rooftop terraces, adding extra quality to the apartments and helping to underline the building’s profile, from the large urban scale to the human scale.

The shared facilities for the entire tower block comprise a bicycle workshop, a laundry and a community room with a roof landscape on the fifth floor, which is shared by all residents.