Description

Suddenly, amid open fields at the edge of a village, one comes across a narrow driveway and a circular plaza, behind which a temple stands. Was this perhaps once the site of an arena from ancient times? Is it a classicistic monument? Or perhaps a postmodern one? One feels a little like one is suddenly transported into the surrealist drawings of Claude-Nicolas Ledoux and Étienne-Louis Boullée: strict geometric forms, an austere façade and a venerable aura. The entrepreneur Ben Decock, who took over the “Camp’s” company from the Van Camp family in 2011, has a degree in psychology and worked in consumer research for almost 20 years before writing a non-fiction book about laughter. Despite embarking on a brand relaunch and expanding the product range, he has always maintained that it is the company’s tradition, its eight employees and old recipes, that make the brand what it is. The new building was to continue in this timeless spirit.

For the design of the new factory building, the architects were given a free hand with only one request: the factory should resemble an abbey. Decock wanted a place not characterised by economic efficiency, but where its employees can work hand in hand like monks and nuns according to the principle Ora et labora – prayer and work. Not life in the service of work but vice versa. The resulting Mustard Abbey has a certain spiritual radiance that also does not fail to captivate. The arched cutout is the only opening on the front and thus the only entrance and also delivery route.

On entering the building, the initial impression of an impervious temple is immediately dispelled. The building is open and bright. From the entrance, one can look through the glass stairwell into the double-height production hall, which is entered via an interim buffer of washrooms. The numerous openings at the rear of the building ensure the production hall is flooded with light and has views out onto the greenery outside. On the first floor, there is a seminar and recreation room, from which one can look down into the production hall and onto the “vegetable marketplace” opposite. A helical staircase serves as vertical circulation and ensures food safety is maintained so that there is no contact between hygienic and non-hygienic areas. The entire production process is likewise a vertical process.

The mustard seeds are stored on the second floor in the mustard tower. From here they trickle into the mills and are further refined with water, vinegar, honey and spices. The silos are the heart of the building and, in contrast to the rest of the factory, are housed in an isolated, quiet room. Standing in this room, like statues of the gods in the inner chamber of a Roman temple, are two deep red tanks. Behind them, a round window with a view of the landscape adds to the contemplative aura.

Originally published in Bauwelt 07.2018, pp. 39-43, abridged and edited for Building Types online, translated by Julian Reisenberger

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