Stephanie D'heygere decorates Silversquare coworking space in Antwerp Tower

Stephanie D'heygere is designing Silversquare's first-ever coworking space in Antwerp. The West Flemish designer, who hails from Kortrijk, is returning to the city where she lived for five years during her student life. She is leaving her mark on no less than 5800 m² of office space spread over three floors of the imposing Antwerp Tower. Inspired by the typical offices of the 1980s and 1990s, the golden age of corporate kitsch, she christened the project Officeland. The official opening is scheduled for the first of June 2023. 

Silversquare's first coworking space in Antwerp comprises three brand-new floors in the Antwerp Tower. One floor, connected to a terrace, was known as Bar Gloed until a few years ago. The office spaces are high, so the view is open and does not overlook other buildings. The tower stands between the famous Central Station and the equally famous shopping street, the Meir, a prime location in the city's heart. Stephanie D'heygere thinks the external contrast between the neighbouring opera house and Antwerp Tower is a super cool extra to the site.

Officeland

"The inspiration for the coworking is coworking itself. It is inspired by office life," Stephanie D'heygere sums up. "I called it Officeland because, to me, it is a kind of amusement park inspired by desks. With the name, I want to combine the seriousness associated with an office job with the playfulness and surrealism, like Wonderland, without making it too laughable. Humour is an important aspect of my life, so it certainly couldn't be missing here. I also see it as a village with all different little houses because the desks are separate cubes like the typical cubicles from the 80s and 90s."

"The idea is that you are constantly surprised by new elements when you walk through the coworking. For example, many oversized objects are present, inspired by Claes Oldenburg and American pop architecture in California. Like two giant desk lamps whose base is a seat and gives off real light. Also, a coffee pot is built over two floors and thus seems to break through the ceiling, and a coffee bag represents the bar. My basic vision is to find beauty in banal everyday objects," D'heygere continues.

"Coworking in Antwerp will be very important for Silversquare," says Alexandre Ponchon, one of Silversquare's founders. "The first Flemish location outside Brussels should set the tone for the rest of the expansion in Flanders." Axel Kuborn, Silversquare's other founder, adds: "That's why the collaboration with Stephanie D'heygere is a dream. A designer with international allure who knows the city. The right person in the right place for this project." 

From 5 m² to 5,800 m²

"I have designed installations for certain clients in the past, but they were never larger than five m². This project is the biggest and longest I have already worked on. In total, it will have taken around two years, while the deadline in the fashion world is often six months. That alone makes it unique for me. And also because with a large-scale project, you have to consider many things that I didn't think about beforehand. The architects helped me greatly with that, and the cooperation was super. The idea of designing objects such as a lamp, a table or a chair is something I would definitely like to do in the future," Stephanie D'heygere says.

Belgian in Paris

After studying fashion at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Stephanie stuck to Paris after several internships abroad, including with Jeremy Scott in Los Angeles, following her first job at Margiela. She has since been living and working in the French capital for 12 years and built her own brand D'heygere there but still feels like a Belgian in Paris, not vice versa. She still visits Belgium regularly and gladly.

Images are available here: https://silversquare.prezly.com/en/media/album/20813