As Vincent Van Duysen Architects’ first hotel project, August Antwerp celebrates five years of being a sacred destination for design in the city’s Green Quarter.
August Antwerp was made instantly recognisable by its black-domed chapel space—a jewel of Belgian architectural heritage restored by Vincent Van Duysen Architects. The nucleus of the hotel, this bar and lounge space is a relic of what was formerly a convent where nuns cared for the sick and injured as part of a 19th-century military estate.
The hotel features 44 guest rooms and suites, all of which enjoy proximity to the hotel’s two walled gardens, designed by Wirtz International Landscape Architects. Most of the rooms, the guest library, and meeting spaces are located within the nuns’ former living quarters, situated behind the chapel, while the public areas comprise the bar, restaurant, spa, and shop.
As Molteni&C creative director, Vincent Van Duysen’s furniture designs for the brand, including the sofas and armchairs, can be seen in both the shared and private spaces.
The chapel is indicative of Van Duysen’s approach to historic architecture, where the new elements, such as the all-black ceiling and steel framing, accent the preserved patterned floor tiles and pilasters.
Hotelier Mouche Van Hool, the name behind the city’s newly refurbished boutique Hotel Julien, first approached Belgian luminary Vincent Van Duysen to design an ‘urban oasis’—one for both international guests and Antwerp locals. In the years since August Antwerp has completely transformed the neighbourhood. “Interaction between locals and hotel guests is something that appeals to me when I travel, and I aspired to that with August,” Van Hool says. “A place that offers space for encounters, but also feels like an embrace. And that is exactly what the architects created.”
August Antwerp’s ageless spaces can be attributed to Van Duysen’s classical design vision. “I refused all previous hotel projects, because I didn’t want to go down the corporate road. I felt flattered by Mouche. There was a fantastic synergy between us,” Van Duysen says. “I felt we could create something exceptional, which exuded intimacy, in relation to the surroundings and in Antwerp, still the place I call home.”
Bespoke details are designed to facilitate introspection and stillness. “Everything you see is custom-made, from the cabinets to the lamps,” Van Duysen explains. “Five years later, it appears we made the right choices, both in visual and tactile terms.” The architect believes that by retaining so much of the building’s DNA, the design demonstrates how architecture can serve as a conduit for history. Van Duysen ensured the design steered clear of ostentation, but the new brushstrokes were felt with impact. The chapel is the central example of this, with preserved patterned floor tiles and pilasters, contrasted by black elements such as the ceiling and steel framing that symbolise the new.
The restaurant’s new a la carte menu by head chef Gerd Govaerts celebrates five years since the hotel first opened.
August Antwerp features 44 guest rooms, mainly housed within the nun’s old living quarters behind the chapel.
In celebration of its fifth anniversary, August Antwerp’s sensorial offering has been extended, with a new à la carte menu curated by head chef Gerd Govaerts. The contemporary culinary experience can be enjoyed under the restaurant’s black steel and glass roof, and smaller bites in the chapel’s light-doused interior can be enjoyed every day of the week. The hotel also collaborated with Maiwe natural skincare for the occasion, where their products complement the hotel’s wellness area and treatments, featuring a hammam, sauna, and outdoor natural swimming pond.
For Van Duysen, August Antwerp is a ‘modern, meditative haven’. It’s a hotel and spa that oscillates between a place to gather in this design-oriented city and a place to retreat in the reconceived walls of an Augustinian convent.
Vincent Van Duysen worked with Italian brand Flos to create all of the custom lighting for the hotel.
August Antwerp partnered with Maiwe natural skincare for its fifth anniversary as a complement to its wellness treatments.
Also available to non-guests, the Spa includes a hammam, sauna and outdoor natural swimming pond.
The hotel is located in Antwerp’s ‘Het Groen Kwartier’ and comprises five buildings.
