01.04.2008 Back to overview

Bouwen aan Vlaanderen: Mebo, Eye-catcher along the E17 Highway – Spacious New Building for a Fast Growing company

The building of the publisher “De Persgroep” is no longer the sole eye-catcher along the E17 highway in Lokeren. Close by, the new Mebo building stands out not only during the day but also at night due to the playful lighting of its showroom.

The choice to stand out was made deliberately. Although the building stands out because of its volume, its official façade in the Brandstraat in the industrial park E17/3 remains rather anonymous. “To be visible from the highway is important in an industrial area,” architect Donald Desmet (signum+) declares. “The parking lot for the staff and visitors is located close to the entrance of the showroom, along the highway. As a consequence we were able to strictly separate passenger transport from freight traffic.”

The showroom constitutes the ground floor level of the offices. The most striking element in it is the floating metal spiral staircase with frosted glass steps. The lighting in woven metal thread also attracts the attention. The huge white closet wall on the other hand looks rather austere. “This is actually not a real showroom, but a demo room”, manager Filip Melis declares. “If we wanted to show all staircases, banisters and other constructions we make, we would need an enormous lot of space. In the closet we show in an austere way all possible materials which can be used.” The staircase leads to a landscape office on level +2. This office looks out on the highway and especially on the meadows behind it. Between this landscape office and the workshops the individual offices for management staff and meeting rooms are located. Everything is rather spacious. “For the time being everyone has indeed a lot of room,” Filip and his wife Inge Bogaert, who founded the company together, tell us. “But we witnessed an enormous growth and we need to be prepared for further expansion. Don’t forget we founded the company only fourteen years ago. At the start we rented a building in Sint-Niklaas. Next we bought a larger building in Lokeren. But very soon this building proved to be too small and as a consequence we rented additional space. At the moment we have a staff of 42.”

Even if the current building can’t keep pace with the further growth, moving house again won’t be necessary. An additional floor can easily be constructed on top of the office part and the workshop and storage area can almost be doubled in the longitudinal direction. “Some additional paving works were the only extra costs made now in view of this possible future expansion,” Donald Desmet knows.

Flexible

The layout of the office space is very flexible. All partitioning walls are removable. Essential however are the large interior windows with view on the shop floor. Along the side of the landscape office the walls are mainly made out of glass. This does not only improve the transparency of the company, but also the illumination angle. Frosted strips ensure the necessary privacy. In other areas reglit glass enables light to pour deep into the building, but maintains at the same time privacy. The sleek and austere design looks luxurious. The floor is not tiled but made of in mass coloured and polished concrete poured on a profiled steel slab. Saw-cuts result in a tile-like look but have in fact a practical function: they prevent problems resulting from the expansion of the concrete. This type of concrete is also used in the showroom and along the edges of the outside pond.

The complete central part of the industrial wing is used by the steel department of Mebo Steel. “Mebo Construct, on the other hand, needs far less space, since its workers only work on building sites”. The stainless steel department of Mebo Steel uses another room completely separated from the steel department. “Steel and stainless steel are two completely different materials. We need to avoid sparks or dust settling on microscopic level on the stainless steel, since this would alter its characteristics.” The workshops got at the bottom a high concrete plinth. Concrete is far less easily damaged by logistic vehicles than metal panels.

Mebo constructed the new building almost entirely itself, from the steel works up to windows, staircases and banisters. Usually the company works as a subcontractor for industrial companies, building companies or directly for public authorities, hospitals and private persons. It manufactures all types of steel and stainless steel constructions, such as staircases and banisters, gritted floors, parapets, hand grips, canopy constructions and cage ladders, not only in standard dimensions but also in very complicated and imaginative forms.

“Design is our product. We do not only collaborate closely with architects, we also design ourselves. As a consequence our company building should reflect this creativity,” is the opinion of Filip Melis. “The open character of the rooms reflects our deliberate choice of space and light, to stimulate an agreeable work climate. The interior design is mainly determined by our own personal taste.”

Energy efficient

“This project is based on an ambitious program, to create within a fixed budget a beautiful but also energy efficient building,” Donald Desmet underlines. “We used radiating and cool ceilings which offer, using 15% less energy, more comfort than traditional systems. We also deliberately used canopies which keep – together with super-insulating glass – the summer sun outside. Rainwater is caught and used to flush toilets, wash the cars and to rinse the staining products off the stainless steel. The lighting is automatically activated, using movement sensors. This is a cheap type of automation which can save a lot of money.” The skylights of the workshops are staggered volumes. The northern light enters and one day solar panels will be placed on the southern slopes.