Antwerp-based studio Bovenbouw has combined three 19th-century buildings on the city's main shopping street, creating a new residential development boasting sculptural openings and coloured marble details.
Located at the far end of Meir, the busiest shopping street in Antwerp, the project brings together a trio of historic buildings that have shops at ground level.
Bovenbouw won a competition organised by the city to combine the buildings above shop level, creating eight new apartments across four storeys, while preserving the original facades.

"The buildings are from the late 19th-century and were in a very bad condition, to the point that roofs were leaking, which led to some wooden floors being unsafe to walk on," explained Bovenbouw founder Dirk Somers. "We adored the facades and were intrigued by the diversity of figures and motives in the eclectic architecture," he told Dezeen.
"The interiors to the contrary were very disappointing in comparison, rather mediocre. We liked to think of a project that would bridge the gap between the decorative richness of the outside and the dull inside."

Each new apartment straddles half a floor of the central building and an entire floor of one of the buildings on either side, covering around 100 square metres.
The architects chose to retain some of the original internal structures like fireplaces and add new openings around them to complement the original facades. The result is a series of spaces...