O'Sea - Charme

O’Sea Charme is a composite project with housing facilities and the related living support programme. The design was derived from a desire to create a coherent and well defined environment from public spaces and buildings. 

The planning here consists of terraced houses, studios, assisted living facilities and apartments. The development theme is for ‘an integrated new urban area that is in harmony with the surroundings, offering something for people of all ages.’

The site will include four different facades; these will face the residential neighbourhood, the sea and the sporting infrastructure (soccer and basketball courts). Each facade has been designed to embrace the appearance of its reflected neighbourhood.

An important guiding design principle is scenography. How does the visitor or resident experience the site? The succession of various outdoor spaces needs to invite visitors and residents to enjoy the area. We want to make typical ‘places’ that are inspired by tried and tested locales around the world, but also from the city of Ostend itself. It’s all about places and connections.

The buildings vary from being tall (in the south-west corner) to being relatively short (in the south-east corner). The taller buildings are on the Troonstraat side of the site and along the northern edge. The role they play as a fulcrum on the coast is emphasized by the accent on height at the corner of L. van Tyghemlaan and Troonstraat. It marks the beginning of the new urban area.

The buildings are predominantly rectangular in shape. A variety of materials have been chosen to help support the different atmospheres and scales, without breaking the overall community identity of the area.

For the most part, classic materials such as brick and architectural concrete will be used in combination with innovative new materials.