The Christian pillar already had several buildings on Korte Begijnenstraat and in the inner areabetween the four streets, including a maternity clinic. The non-profit organization Volksverheffing commissioned architect Vanhout to design an office building for the General Christian Workers’ Association (ACW) to house various offices, service counters and the mechanical department. The new building was planned on a vacant lot in the northern part of the site, adjacent to gardens. It needed to include a passage through to an existing two-storey office building on the western side. In January 1964, Vanhout submitted a building permit application for a centrally located two-storey block with offices above a ground floor featuring a covered entrance, hall and counter area. The remaining space between the rectangle and the plot boundaries was occupied by the ‘ mechanography‘. By placing this workspace half a level below ground level, two problems were solved: firstly, this part of the building does not extend above the garden walls, and secondly, it allows light to reach the centrally located counter hall. The plan has a modulation of 1.20 m by 1.20 m. Except for the fixed core of five by six modules for elevator, stairs, and toilets, the rest – the offices and corridors – could be freely arranged using movable walls. The modulation is clearly expressed in the windows. The façades show a horizontal effect through the floor plates and roof plate, which protrude about 50 cm from the window surfaces.
In the period immediately following the building permit application, the ACW decided to double the number of offices. A drawing by Paul Schellekens exists, probably from that period, of a seven-storey office building on a two-storey substructure. This drawing of the façade can be interpreted as an artistic expression. The composition using protruding blocks is particularly striking. This can also be found in the four floors of the second building application submitted in March1964. The blocks are made of prefabricated concrete. The lower ones are sun shields. Behind the higher ones are convectors for heating, except, of course, for the top row. The structure of the ground floor is completely different. Here, the heavy columns stand out. The first three rows stand freely because this section serves as a canopy for the hall. We can also see the others through a continuous window above the workspaces. A report on this office building was published in La Maison in March 1968.
