Let’s Go Urban is a project by the social entrepreneur Sihame El Kaouakibi, that accommodates more than 1000 youngsters -of all creeds, colors and social backgrounds- per week after school hours. The Urban Center is a hub where every child and every young wave maker can take his future in a positive, stimulating and inspiring environment. Through many urban disciplines such as dance, sports, media and singing, young people get the chance to develop themselves.
The former orangery from the Kiel, built by the architect E. Van Averbeke in 1912 had been transformed in the early 1950s into the city banquet hall. In phase one of the project, this hall is turned into a large polyvalent event space for The Urban Center. The second floor houses a small study- and co-working area, where youngsters can get support for their study, work and/or entrepreneurship.
For this project we worked together with awg architecten. The team is now working on the second phase, where a new structure will be added behind the existing building, once more with the financial support of the city of Antwerp.