Social Housing Merksemsesteenweg

The Social Housing project on Merksemsesteenweg by Areal Architecten for Woonhaven Antwerpen redefines collective living within the fragmented twentieth-century urban belt of Deurne. The design completes an unfinished urban block with a coherent ensemble of 52 social dwellings, where collectivity, light, and green space form the essence of residential quality. Through a careful interplay of ground-level and stacked typologies around an open courtyard and a shared rooftop landscape for urban agriculture, the project fosters both intimacy and community. Facades of light red and white-hued brickwork lend the building a recognizable yet refined expression, softened by subtle articulations that respond to scale and context. Rooted in sustainability and robustness, the architecture employs a rational structure, compact circulation, and shared amenities to encourage social interaction. Rather than seeking spectacle, it embodies a measured urban balance between the individual and the collective, proposing a contemporary model for social living.