Architects: OYO
Area: 4830 m²
Year: 2024
Photographs: Farah Lieten, Karen Van der Biest
Manufacturers: Buro Project
Lead Architects: Ferran Massip, Nigel Jooren, Eddy Soete, Veroniek Vanhaecke y Lies Willaert
Category: Community Center, Adaptive Reuse, Cultural Center
Interior Design Team: OYO architects
Engineering & Consulting > Lighting: NO4MAD
Engineering & Consulting > Other: Zware Jongens
City: Ghent
Country: Belgium
Wintercircus technological and cultural hub designed by OYO Architects in the city of Ghent has redefined a monumental 1885 building into a contemporary interior environment for entrepreneurship and innovation. The transformation of this 4,830 m² heritage structure, formerly a circus and garage, supports the vision of TENT, a local tech and city consortium, positioning Wintercircus as a cultural-economic engine in the heart of the city. The project reimagines the historic volume through workspace design, adaptive reuse, and sustainable material strategies, resulting in over thirty startup offices, a central Arena, an exhibition hall, and two gastronomy venues. The intervention emphasizes adaptive interiors guided by natural light, warm textures, and the reuse of second-hand furniture and urban remnants. The new layout, including a glass-wrapped Auditorium and versatile Expo space, highlights the building’s industrial past while introducing modern spatial flexibility. Completed in phases since 2015, Wintercircus embodies a convergence of heritage architecture and contemporary technological culture, reinforcing Ghent’s identity as a UNESCO Creative City of Music and part of its 2050 climate-neutral ambition.
OYO Architects, based in Ghent and Barcelona, presents Wintercircus, a 4,830 m² interior renovation that revitalizes a historic monument in the center of Ghent, Belgium. Originally built in 1885 and known for its evolution from circus to car garage, the structure is now transformed into a technological and cultural hub that supports long-term sustainability for both the campus and the city.
Preserving the robust framework from its 2015 structural intervention by BARO and SUMproject, OYO has reconfigured the interiors to align with the goals of TENT, a consortium of local tech entrepreneurs and the City of Ghent. The design aims to establish the Wintercircus as a central node for community engagement, economic development, and employment. According to the architects, “the magic of the Wintercircus lies in the opportunity it provides to foster innovation, inspired by spontaneous interactions and the exchange of ideas between entrepreneurs, researchers, students, digital creatives and the general public.”
The architectural intervention includes more than thirty workspaces for technology start-ups, a large multi-purpose Arena, two venues for exhibitions and conferences, and two gastronomic spaces. The use of color and texture draws from the circus typology, creating an interior environment intended to evoke curiosity and entrepreneurial energy. The architects emphasized adapting the monumental structure to the human scale, using warm materials to make the space more accessible and welcoming. At the center of the building, the Arena functions as a flexible venue for a variety of events, from presentations to art installations. OYO’s approach retains the site’s industrial and monumental identity while prioritizing flexibility. A movable neon light installation installed at the ceiling level adds a dynamic layer to the spatial experience.
Surrounding the Arena, the Start-ups Campus accommodates tech firms across several building levels. Instead of traditional office layouts, OYO designed light-filled, open workspaces with natural materials, encouraging interaction and collaboration. These areas feature generous desk surfaces, breakout zones, and a visual language of greens, yellows, and reds contrasting with exposed wood and brick. Much of the furniture was sourced second-hand or crafted from recycled materials, emphasizing the project’s circular economy approach. Above the Arena, a glass-walled Auditorium seats over one hundred and serves as a venue for talks and conferences. On the ground floor, the Expo is conceived as a highly flexible platform for activities ranging from exhibitions to fitness programming.
The two gastronomic spaces include a sushi restaurant on the upper level and Bar Bougie, a café opening onto the Arena. The café, housed in the garage’s former grease workshop, combines wood, warm lighting, green steel, and exposed concrete, establishing a dialogue between industrial heritage and contemporary design. OYO integrated sustainable practices throughout the project. Robotic construction methods and the reuse of electronic waste and salvaged urban components reflect a material-conscious approach. The final spatial composition merges past and present, where historical structure and new functions coexist. Wintercircus now operates as a multi-programmed space that supports technology, culture, and community, reinforcing Ghent’s identity as a cultural and innovative urban center.
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Project Location
Address: Ghent, Belgium
The location specified is intended for general reference and may denote a city or country, but it does not identify a precise address.
