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Client(s)Group Machiels, Essers Family Office
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Construction siteGenk
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Project architectYan Kozmo Peeters
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Architect teamSebastien Delagrange, Pieter Van Den Berge, Arnaud Helsen
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Competition2024
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Year2024-
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StatusDesign
BINST ARCHITECTS designed the striking gateway building at the entrance of the Limburg Logistics Campus in Genk as a bold and meaningful landmark within the redevelopment of the former Ford site. The seven-story tower forms a visual and functional gateway to a renewed economic landscape, where logistics, manufacturing, and technology converge into an innovative vision for Limburg’s future.
The building features an expressive, vertical volumetry with a strong rhythm in the façade design. The exterior is clad in charred timber using the traditional Japanese shou sugi ban technique—a method that surface-chars the wood to improve resistance to weather, mold, and insects. This durable finish gives the building a distinctive black, almost graphite-toned appearance, while subtly referencing the coal layers in Limburg’s subsoil and the robust materiality of the region’s industrial heritage.
The combination of treated wood, metal, and glass creates an aesthetic balance between warm and cool, natural and industrial. The gateway building is conceived as a timeless, sculptural object—confidently positioned within the landscape, recognizable yet never overbearing.
The building integrates a variety of functions:
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Office spaces for companies in logistics, manufacturing, and tech industries
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Facilities for public services, educational institutions, or training initiatives
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Possible support amenities such as shared services, hospitality, or flexible workspaces
This mixed-use program creates a vibrant work environment where collaboration and innovation take center stage.
Beyond the use of sustainable façade materials, the interior design also prioritizes environmental performance. The building is designed with BREEAM Excellent ambitions, ensuring high standards in energy efficiency, material use, mobility, ecology, and water management. Renewable energy sources, water recycling, a high-performance building envelope, and circular strategies contribute to these goals. The compact volume minimizes the ecological footprint and supports efficient, future-ready operations.
Rather than marking the end of an era, the gateway building symbolizes the transition to a new generation of enterprise. The rich industrial past of the site remains tangible—but is reimagined in a forward-looking, sustainable, and high-performing form.
