St Ursmarus Church in Baasrode is being given a new lease of life. Following a thorough analysis of the building and its surroundings, the brief was set: to integrate a commercial accommodation facility within this historic setting. But what concept would do justice to such a place?

The search began at the very beginning. Before hotels and hostels, there were inns — places where travellers could retreat, exchange stories and catch their breath. That essence, the encounter between the traveller and their surroundings, has largely been lost today.

This project brings that core experience back. Situated on the Scheldt, surrounded by nature and cycling and walking routes, the church becomes a contemporary resting place for cyclists and walkers. Not an anonymous accommodation, but a place where you truly feel the surroundings — the tranquillity of the water, the scale of the sacred building, the slow pace of travel.

Locals and passers-by come together here once more, as was once the natural order of things. The inn as a concept, the church as a place, the Scheldt as the context — together they form a lodging experience rooted in its landscape and history.