Gustave
Collective housing , Retail
Redevelopment of the former ISA site into an open residential neighbourhood in the centre of Temse.
The ISA site, formerly the Sint-Amelberga Institute, occupies a strategic position within the town centre. It sits at the intersection of different urban contexts and forms a link between the commercial core and surrounding residential areas.
The design aims to open up a previously enclosed inner block and weave it back into the existing urban fabric. The historic abbey and chapel are retained as spatial anchors within the plan. New volumes are introduced in dialogue with the scale and grain of the surroundings.
The masterplan organises the buildings around squares, courtyards and car-free passages. Existing informal routes are reinforced and extended, improving permeability and reconnecting the site to adjacent streets. A new square at the corner of the site establishes a clear transition towards the town’s commercial centre.
The programme combines a range of housing typologies with ground-floor commercial functions. The architecture seeks a balance between recognisability and coherence, with careful attention to light, proportion and material expression.
The name Gustave refers to Gustave Eiffel, whose Scheldt bridge physically connected the region. In a similar way, the project is conceived as an act of connection — between old and new, housing and town.
