Vincent Van Duysen transforms 19th-century convent into Antwerp’s August resort

The ascetic dwelling quarters of 19th-century nuns is now host to the August resort, which options up to date pared-back interiors developed by Vincent Van Duysen.

Decked out in an array of straightforward and heat supplies, August has been designed by domestically primarily based Vincent Van Duysen in order that company “can nonetheless sense the sober, understated lifetime of the convent nuns”.

The resort is situated in Het Groen Kwartier – which interprets as The Inexperienced Quarter in English – an eight-hectare area of Antwerp that is been completely pedestrianised.

At its centre is a sprawling red-brick army hospital the place injured troopers have been tended to by Augustinian nuns throughout the 1800s. The positioning additionally functioned as a hospital throughout world struggle two.

5 buildings on the location and the chapel have been transformed to accommodate August and its facilities.

“[Our] technique in turning the hidden gem and its gardens into August was before everything to respect the historic DNA of the location,” stated Van Duysen.

“The resort is a spot the place you are feeling calm and at dwelling with out neglecting the truth that you might be in a spot that was sacred.”

“We have now absolutely thought of the previous as being a phenomenal reward to maintain and reinterpret what we have now in a contemporary manner,” he continued.

The constructing the place the nuns would previously retreat to sleep now accommodates 44 visitor rooms.

Each has been accomplished with white partitions and sage-green joinery. Aside from a choice of lamps by Italian model Flos, the decor has been restricted to handwoven rugs and rattan ottomans positioned on the finish of the beds.

Visitors can seize a drink on the bar, which takes over the previous chapel. The room’s ornate pilasters and patterned ground tiles have been preserved, whereas its grand domed ceiling has been painted jet black.

“The black components characterize the brand new, offering distinction and gently bringing up to date life to the challenge,” defined Van Duysen.

Stone-coloured sofas and gray leather-based armchairs have been dotted all through. Shelving that overtly shows liquor bottles seems immediately beneath a stained glass window.

Vincent Van Duysen creates up to date “palazzo” for Molteni Group’s New York showroom

In addition to a spa and store promoting a curated mixture of way of life objects, the resort additionally boasts its personal restaurant. It occupies a a large hall that runs across the chapel and affords seasonal dishes made with domestically grown components.

Vincent Van Duysen established his eponymous studio in 1990 and has since accomplished a bunch of structure and interiors tasks.

These embrace the Molteni & C showroom in New York, which is designed to resemble an Italian palazzo, and an Aesop retailer in Hamburg, which options ladder-like shelving and a chunky stone sink.

Van Duysen additionally creates merchandise – again in 2016 he made a cast-concrete lamp for Flos.

Images is by Robert Rieger.