30/11/2017
A state-of-the-art hotel school – those were the words of Geert Bourgeois, Minister-President of Flanders, when he first visited the RHIZO Hotel School.
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The new building for the RHIZO Hotel School consists of two separate volumes: a long building volume and a separate sports hall. An extensive programme of classrooms and spaces has been accommodated within it, in a very clear and logical manner. This is thanks to the division into three main sections by architects SAR – De Vloed:
Inside the long building, a light-filled, covered internal street connects the various sections. All these features led to this project being awarded an Arch School Award.
Contractor STRABAG was responsible for the construction works and is now also responsible for the 30-year maintenance.
The school canteen is of particular importance in a hotel school: after all, the students must first and foremost be able to enjoy a good meal themselves.
The restaurant has a capacity of 360 students. On one side is the restaurant itself, and on the other the commercial kitchen where the food is prepared and which is open to view.
It is the students in the higher years themselves who are responsible for the lunch service here, together with the chefs from the school and Scolarest (catering partner for the education sector). Here, they prepare meals centrally for all schools in the RHIZO school group.
On the first floor, a training restaurant and kitchens are situated on either side of the central atrium.
Various glass walkways connect the two spaces and offer a wide view. The bright yet cosy restaurant allows students to practise in a realistic setting. Guests are welcome for lunch on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
The various teaching kitchens provide the appropriate facilities for all students and all skill levels: there is a bistro kitchen, a small kitchen, a preparation kitchen and a kitchen for the first year.
On both the first and second floors, the classrooms are located at one end of the building, next to the stairwell.
Students at a hotel school naturally also take a range of general subjects. For this purpose, there are classrooms as well as co-teaching rooms, where different teachers can work together to cater for a larger group of students.
The exposed concrete, the large windows and the skylight above the staircase create calm and light-filled circulation areas.
The multi-purpose room is located on the first floor of the building. It is equipped with the necessary audiovisual equipment and can accommodate 165 people.
Just like the meeting rooms further down the corridor on this floor, the multi-purpose room is suitable for a wide range of uses. The school has therefore chosen to open these spaces up to third parties. The architects took this into account in their design, and it was also included in the maintenance contract with the contractor.
The auditorium has 72 seats. But there is more.
At the front, instead of a standard stage or lectern, you’ll find a fully equipped demonstration kitchen. Video recording and live projection are provided, so that everyone in the auditorium can follow exactly what’s happening at the front in the kitchen.
The guest restaurant has a separate, direct entrance from the ground floor.
The wooden floors and wall panelling immediately immerse you in a cosy atmosphere. This guest restaurant is therefore the perfect place for a drink at the bar and a gourmet meal.
The eye-catcher is, of course, the curved ceiling, which features an art integration project. And as befits a School of Tomorrow, the space meets strict acoustic requirements.
You’ll be welcomed by students practising their hospitality skills and get to sample the gourmet meals prepared by the trainee chefs.
The new sports hall has been built in a separate building on the same site.
The sports hall is spacious and high-ceilinged with plenty of natural light. Changing rooms, toilets and a storage room are also provided. And the semi-underground car park has space for 49 cars.
The fact that the sports hall is separate from the hotel school itself facilitates its multifunctional use. After all, the school wishes to make the sports facilities available for school sports competitions or for clubs.
Anyone who thought a hotel school was just about kitchens now knows better. We can only agree with Minister-President Bourgeois when he calls this school, with all its diverse spaces, functions, users and atmospheres, a state-of-the-art hotel school!