A former carpentry workshop in the Sint-Macharius neighbourhood in Ghent will become a hostel and neighbourhood space where meeting and connecting are key. The hostel is a camping space, the ground floor a neighbourhood café and meeting place for local residents and hostel guests.

The design builds on the liveliness created in the neighbourhood by neighbourhood initiatives and extends this to the part of the neighbourhood that still lacks it. In this way, this part of the neighbourhood is also connected to the rest. The hostel idea is deliberately chosen: accessible, inclusive and social.

The camping idea stems from temporariness and flexibility. Needs, requirements and functions change. The design should be able to adapt to this in a simple and sustainable way. Therefore, it works with light, dismountable materials that can be dismantled and reused in their entirety — a temporary, flexible interpretation. At the same time, the camping idea enables light, air and greenery in a dense, urban context. It creates breathing space, a kind of courtyard.

The building not only gets new life, but is also given back to the neighbourhood: a place for parties, game nights and encounters. Hostel guests get to know Ghent in a local way. It is a place that wants to bring together, inspire and give — for the neighbourhood, visitors and the future.