The café with outdoor terrace.

The central square

View on the reception desk.

Theater hall with 200 seats.

Conference rooms are available for personnel and resident groups

The empty exhibition space, before being set up.

Voids penetrate the exhibition floor and bring daylight into the central square.

Tabloo, a Visitor Centre for a Nuclear Waste Disposal Facility

Dessel

Ground floor

Second floor

First floor

Section

Section

Designing a visitor center for a nuclear waste disposal site is an exceptional task. Given the recent advances in technology, the meaning and interpretation of the building are expected to evolve, necessitating a flexible approach. Alongside our team members from ONO Architecture, we believed the building should be as distinctive as the subject it represents. The design aims to establish a link with the nuclear facility, drawing visitors naturally toward the subject.

The proposed building features two distinct sections: an imposing yet timeless structure that resembles a 12-meter-high floating table, which houses the permanent displays, and a lighter, more adaptable section beneath it, accommodating a versatile program of halls and offices. The formal order and consistency of the dominant structure temper the more informal and adventurous design of the lower section, creating a harmonious balance between scale and form.

  • Design teamDirk Somers, Eline Aerts, Federica Altobelli, Joni Nieuwenhuysen, Thomas Faes, Marius Grootveld, Carole Boeckx, Gosia Olchowska, Brecht Casier, Wolfram Winter and Matilde Everaert
  • LocationDessel
  • Year2013 - 2021
  • ClientNIRAS
  • ProgramParticipation process, communication center (with info point, exhibition spaces, multi-purpose hall with auditorium for 200 people, cafeteria, office and staff rooms, meeting rooms and archive) and landscape park for the integrated project of surface disposal of category A waste
  • In collaboration withONO Architecture
  • PhotographyFilip Dujardin