Warande Park in Turnhout, located near the castle of the Dukes of Brabant, was chosen in the 1960s as the location for a new urban cultural centre. On the grounds of the former monastery-hospital, architects Frans Schoeters, Carli Vanhout, and Eugène Wauters – later joined by Paul Schellekens – developed a progressive design that aligned with the ideals of cultural emancipation and accessibility.
De Warande was built in a brutalist style, recognisable by the combination of expressive forms, visible construction and raw materials. The architects deliberately chose dark brown manganese brick from Rijkevorsel and exposed rough-formed concrete without ornamentation but with strong spatial effects. The building consists of separate volumes connected by glass walkways. Inside, duplex structures, interior gardens, cylindrical forms and level differences provide light, orientation and interaction between users. At its centre lies an open hall that functions as a meeting place – intended as an accessible space where everyone should feel welcome.
The construction was completed in two phases: the first phase, including the library and exhibition halls, was completed in the early 1970s; the second phase, featuring a large theatre hall for 752 visitors, followed in 1977. The planned third phase for the academies was never realized. In the 2000s, expansions followed, such as the small hall, Kuub (2005), and an underground parking garage (2009).
Between 2016 and 2018, the entire theatre was renovated by Architects in Motion, a firm led by Luc Vanhout, son of the original architect Carli Vanhout, and Bart Janssens.
This cross-generational involvement gave the project not only technical renewal but also symbolic continuity. The renovation improved acoustics, safety, accessibility and comfort while preserving the original brutalist character.
Today, De Warande is not only a dynamic cultural centre in the heart of the city but also an exemplar of late modernist architecture in Flanders – firmly rooted in history while orientated towards the future.
