Trinity residential tower in Ostend is new landmark on Belgian coast

The recently finished new residential tower ‘Trinity’ in Ostend is a true eye-catcher. This is not only because of its exceptional height (17 floors), which is unique for the Belgian coast, but certainly also because of its architecture designed by Binst Architects.

Trinity was not the first assignment Binst Architects designed on the Belgian coast. Earlier, it also signed for One Baelskaai, which is part of the same Ostend master plan for the development of the ‘Oosteroever’ or east bank. One Baelskaai was an earlier step in the bigger picture of a bold urban development and fitted into the large-scale development into a hip, new urban district in the ‘Vuurtorenwijk’, the lighthouse area. Trinity is a 17-storey tower - the first tower on the Belgian coast - arranging four flats per layer with very spacious terraces like stacked tables one above the other.

“The master plan for the new Ostend is all about high-quality architecture with a broad signature”, comments CEO Luc Binst of Binst Architects. “We tried to translate the brief into an abstract expressionism with a healthy balance of intelligent restraint and controlled expression.”

Sleek, modernist approach

“With this project, you will notice that we see our responsibility as architects going beyond merely creating aesthetic buildings. The whole must contribute to the social and spatial well-being of the urban environment and with Trinity we deliberately chose a sleek, modernist approach that contrasts with our earlier project One Baelskaai, yet functions just as strongly as a landmark.”

The official presentation of Trinity, finished in collaboration with main contractor Versluys Group between 2017 and 2024, completing phase 1 of the Oosteroever masterplan, states that the central intention was to create a sleek corner beacon and light lantern to the dock. To achieve this, it reverts to a javanais with floating edges made of white polished concrete.

“We did this for a reason”, states Luc Binst. “What we wanted to achieve was to create very bright residential floors. We provided these with black exterior joinery and special mirror partitions between the flats. You can think of these transverse partitions as ‘architectural gills’. They elevate the whole and present themselves to the outside world as a characterful, timeless and light appearance.”

17 storeys

During the implementation phase, the residential tower followed the master plan: there were 17 storeys and a technical roof level. The whole looks seemingly simple, but appearances are deceptive.

“Two building layers are underground, they form part of the car park connecting two phases. Then there is the ground level, which consists of a generous entrance area that opens up the central core. Furthermore, this ground floor contains four commercial spaces that activate the plinth, with a bicycle storage area at the back that is easily accessible via the inner area. The floors themselves each consist of four spacious flats around the core. Each of these is equipped with spacious exterior terraces that, as continuous discs of various thicknesses in polished concrete, largely help to define the character of the tower. The terraces protrude a maximum of 1.50 m from the building line.”

“When you look at the tower, which comprises 71 luxury flats, from the outside, you notice how the street facades were glazed to the maximum. We did this not only for the purpose of creating views and lights, but also to give it a transparent character. A few deep narrow fins in black reflective glazing break the horizontality of the terrace sides and give the tower a slender appearance. These fins are positioned in such a way that they also serve as privacy screens for the first metre of the terrace. This creates windless, sheltered corners on each of the terraces. In addition, the reflective nature of the fins enhances the presence of the ever-changing surroundings and broadens the view of the occupants. Because of the glazing and the reflective fins, the facade comes across as ethereal and light in second line. Both materials materialise ‘absence’ in their own way, making the terrace sides appear to float above each other. This gives the tower a certain lightness and makes it fit seamlessly with the bold urban development for which the Oosteroever masterplan stands. With the whole design, we wanted to bring tranquillity and simplicity to the corner Vuurtorendok Zuid - Victorialaan. After all, this was not about architecture that just wants to impress visually, the whole thing should also stand for sustainable social value.”

From Knokke to Middelkerke

A natural final question is whether other projects are in the pipeline for Binst Architects, which has previously been active not only in Ostend, but also at ‘Duin en Park’ in Knokke.

“The answer to that is yes. Although I can't give any details yet”, says Luc Binst. “A number of projects are stuck in the design phase, but that's all I can say for now. Let me just say that the designs are roughly situated from Knokke to Middelkerke.”

All pictures © Binst Architects