Dynamic facade in travertine
Baelskaai Oosteroever Ostend
De Baelskaai is part of the new urban district in Ostend, Oosteroever [‘East Bank’]. This all-embracing development reconciles the existing and new architecture with the port and the surroundings. The green interior area reinforces the project’s dynamism and habitability. For one of the modern apartment buildings, a sleek, symmetrical facade with inset terraces was erected with 2,500 square metres of natural stone tiles.
Baelskaai 25 – designed by AWG Architecten, Antwerp - is an imposing building consisting of 70 apartments spread over 14 floors. On the ground floor there are also four commercial properties. Builder Versluys chose travertine for the facade cladding. It is on the one hand a nod to other Ostend facades in the same natural stone along the sea wall, on the other hand, it helps shape the timeless architecture.
Sustainable detail
The cladding of the façade for Baelskaai 25 started in October 2019. A month earlier, we visited the Italian quarries near Rome with the contractor De Wan Natuursteen to select the exact blocks for the project. Travertino Romano Classico was chosen. These were applied lightly polished and not masticated in 4 centimetres thickness thus accentuating the warm, southerly tints and the natural character of the stone.
The lined effect of travertine was preserved by cutting in “vein cut light”.
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The achieved effect perfectly reflects the waves of the sea and creates a dynamic facade in balance with the surroundings.
The white-grey acid-stained concrete completes the detail of the facade.
Maximum consideration was also given to coastal weather conditions when choosing the appropriate natural stone. The wind, the sand, the salty sea: nature has an effect on materials. Choosing natural stone means that you automatically choose for sustainability. Natural stone is a material that withstands the ravages of time and adds value to projects.
Guided by this vision we are constantly working on innovative materials, finishes and applications, drawing on more than 120 years of experience in landscape and surface materials in natural stone and blended materials (Uniceramica, Unistone, Unimarble and Terrazzo). By means of our quarries, production and worldwide distribution sites, we have all materials and knowledge in-house to be the partner of choice for numerous inspiring interior and exterior projects.
Copyright: Klaas Verdru
Architect: AWG Antwerp
Contractor: Natuursteen De Wan
Builder: Burco Coast
Material: Travertino Romano Classico