Atelier PPW / NWLND Rogiers Vandeputte + Kris Broidioi

Architects: Kris Broidioi, NWLND Rogiers Vandeputte
Area: 2,500 m²
Year: 2024
Photography: Johnny Umans
Architects: Pieter Vandeputte, Bert Rogiers, Kris Broidioi
Manufacturers: Kingspan Insulated Panels, JUUNOO, Isobouw, Joris Ide, SAPA Building Systems, Soprema, Steico, Zinco, Zumptobel
Structure: Establis
Techniques: Acovex
General Contractor: Algemene Ondernemingen Himpe, Stima Metaalconstructies, Eurobeton, Alu Decor
City: Ostend
Country: Belgium

Atelier PPW in Ostend is an educational facility designed by NWLND Rogiers Vandeputte and Kris Broidioi to accommodate workshop and studio spaces within a compact urban school campus. The project explores structural efficiency and openness through a column-based system that supports two stacked volumes. This configuration allows for generous, flexible interiors and a ground-floor passage that connects the public street to the school’s inner courtyard. Extending southward, a canopy introduces shade and greenery to the playground, functioning both as a transitional circulation zone and as part of a broader landscape transformation. The building’s material palette of concrete and glass conveys lightness and adaptability, while the offset from adjacent properties enables future spatial growth and improved connections within the evolving campus environment.

Atelier ppw / nwlnd rogiers vandeputte + kris broidioi

Set within the dense urban fabric of Ostend, Atelier PPW redefines the relationship between educational infrastructure and its surrounding cityscape. Conceived by NWLND Rogiers Vandeputte in collaboration with Kris Broidioi, the project transforms a modest campus site into a clear, functional composition that merges pedagogical purpose with architectural restraint. Rather than imposing a distinct object within the school grounds, the architects envisioned a structure that acts as both threshold and connector, mediating between the street and the courtyard while maintaining a calm, rational presence.

The program called for a building atelier on the ground floor and a painting studio above, two spaces differing in use yet unified by a shared structural logic. A column system organizes the layout, stacking the volumes vertically and freeing the interior from obstructions. This structural clarity permits flexibility in the teaching areas and a generous opening at ground level, forming a sheltered transition between the city and the school. The composition reads as an open framework that both defines and releases space, reflecting the pedagogical emphasis on process, experimentation, and transparency.

To the south, the building extends into a projecting canopy that shades the playground and introduces vegetation into an otherwise mineral environment. This gesture softens the edge of the structure while articulating a new outdoor corridor that encourages circulation between workshops and outdoor spaces. It also signals the beginning of a gradual transformation of the school’s grounds into a greener, more inclusive landscape, aligning architectural intervention with environmental renewal.

Circulation elements are expressed externally, maintaining the interior’s spatial clarity. Two vertical cores, integrated within the setbacks along the property line, address varying building heights across the site and ensure adaptability for future expansion. These circulation towers reinforce the modular character of the architecture, allowing the building to evolve as the campus itself changes. The combination of concrete framing and light glass infill underlines a deliberate balance between permanence and openness, establishing a dialogue between structure and transparency.

Through its measured simplicity and contextual precision, Atelier PPW stands as an example of how educational buildings can articulate both continuity and transformation. It integrates constructional rigor with spatial generosity, providing an environment that fosters creativity while anchoring the campus within its urban surroundings.