Throughout the centuries, the Sisters of Mary have been responsible for the care and education of the most needy residents of Leuven.
With the repurposing of their convent site into an accessible and affordable care site, the dwindling religious order aims to continue fulfilling this societal role in the future.
The central site on Charles Deberiotstraat consists of historical mansions, the 19th-century convent, and 20th-century extensions that have gradually merged over the years.
This architectural ensemble creates a strong presence in the bend of the narrow, steep Deberiotstraat and leaves a generous open space, the inner garden, adjacent to the university colleges behind it.
The repurposing anchors this spatial context by keeping the inner garden open and integrating additional programs on the street side.
Alongside the garden, the Viculus Caer, the passage between Deberiotstraat and the college buildings, is restored.
Selective demolition of outbuildings and a 1970s extension makes the historical ensemble more readable and enables three connecting interventions.
The transparent tall window frames make these interventions a cohesive and readable whole.
On the street side, the wall is removed, turning the opened forecourt into a meeting place and literally providing breathing space for the street.
In the corner of the early 20th-century corner building, a garden room is added, extending the ground floor and forming the social heart of the site.
This communal space connects the street and inner garden and offers an open-end solution for future care development in the neighboring building.
The building from the 1970s, which will be demolished, is replaced by a brick volume that aligns volumetrically with the old convent.
The added volume is connected to the corner building by a transparent section that opens onto the social heart.
Between the convent and the mansions, a staircase core is added behind an extended rear facade.
Due to the varied sequence of building parts and the different atmospheres of the sections, Mariahof surpasses the traditional care site of rooms connected by a corridor.
