August Hotel — Antwerp, Belgium

Over his long career, Vincent Van Duysen had been approached many times to work on a hotel, but it wasn’t until Mouche Van Hool, the owner of the soigné Hotel Julien, came knocking for help on her sophomore project that the Belgian architect finally found his match.
As it turns out, the 19th-century Military Hospital and Augustinian convent in the city’s Green Quarter development was an ideal canvas for his trademark blend of feathery light aesthetics and gently coloured palette. Five separate buildings – including the nuns’ old private chapel and living quarters – and three walled gardens have been stitched together into a 44-room cloistered retreat. Absurdly high ceilings, restored floor tiles, and oversized arched windows form an impressively lofty backdrop that Van Duysen dresses with Flos lamps, deeply set black leather sofas, and low-slung tables.
The spa, meanwhile, is stocked with Bamford products, but the hotel’s tent-pole attraction is the restaurant where chef Nick Bril orchestrates a mod menu that includes roasted brill paired with beurre noisette, and roasted local vegetables glazed with fermented bean sauce.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
Jules Bordetstraat 5
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
All-In is the Paris-based label making full-force fashion for main character dressing
Part of our monthly Uprising series, Wallpaper* meets Benjamin Barron and Bror August Vestbø of All-In, the LVMH Prize-nominated label which bases its collections on a riotous cast of characters – real and imagined
By Orla Brennan
-
Maserati joins forces with Giorgetti for a turbo-charged relationship
Announcing their marriage during Milan Design Week, the brands unveiled a collection, a car and a long term commitment
By Hugo Macdonald
-
Through an innovative new training program, Poltrona Frau aims to safeguard Italian craft
The heritage furniture manufacturer is training a new generation of leather artisans
By Cristina Kiran Piotti
-
Antwerp Navigator: an unfussy guide to ‘the diamond capital of the world’
A visit to Antwerp will stimulate and inspire your senses, in the best way. Here’s what we recommend
By Ellen Himelfarb
-
Stay in Paradis, a heavenly new ‘curated apartment’ on the Belgian coast
The vibrant Belgian harbour town of Ostende is now home to an art and design-filled holiday apartment by local agency Club Paradis
By Léa Teuscher
-
Bar Magritte in Brussels is the world’s only bar dedicated to the Belgian Surrealist artist
Bar Magritte, located inside Hotel Amigo in Brussels, offers expert mixology and René Magritte’s inimitable quirkiness
By Sofia de la Cruz
-
Fine dining and environmentally friendly shelters define La Roseraie Modave
Chef Marie Trignon’s La Roseraie Modave adds these cabin-style shelters to its acclaimed dining offering, on the edge of the Ardennes in Belgium
By Sofia de la Cruz
-
Hotel August offers a modern-day sanctuary in Antwerp's Green District
Hotel August is a former Augustinian convent quirkily reimagined by Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen
By Sofia de la Cruz
-
La Réserve, Knokke’s grand dame of hospitality, is back with a bang
La Réserve in Knokke launches its luxurious redesign by Glenn Sestig, bringing the iconic Belgian hotel icon into the 21st century
By Ellie Stathaki
-
Brussels' Mix Hotel opens in the former headquarters of La Royale Belge
For the new Mix Hotel, Lionel Jadot completed the interior overhaul of the former headquarters of La Royale Belge in Brussels
By Emma O'Kelly
-
Villa One at the One & Only Palmilla — Los Cabos, Mexico
By Chadner Navarro