On the 21st November 2007, the IPB Challenge Press Prize for the ‘most innovative industrial building’ was awarded to the Eco Print Center in Lokeren (Belgium) designed by ELD partnership. The IPB (Industrial and Project Construction) Challenge is an architectural competition for completed industrial and logistical buildings, recognising that industrial constructions certainly can be examples of creative and innovative architecture.
The Eco Print Centre, commissioned by De Persgroep, one of the major media groups in Belgium, is an outstanding example of light industrial architecture. The functionality and the flows of raw materials and finished products are the predominant factors in the design, layout and organisation of this state of the art printing facility. ELD developed an architectural design that combines a strong architectural image with economic and technical elegance.
Prominently located along the E17 highway, the building is clearly visible to thousands of motorists passing by every day. ELD’s team of architects molded the initial, functional programme into a pure expression of ‘less is more’. The strong architectural statement is the result of this quest for purity of design, accentuated by simplicity, and the limited number of different materials used; glass, concrete and industrial aluminum cladding.
At night the building transforms into a transparent box, exposing its internal activities to the fullest.