We visited Ryhove, a contemporary factory located in the suburbs of Ghent. Ryhove is a non-profit organization which focuses on lean manufacturing, not heavy industry. They offer a multitude of services including assembly, food assembly, printing, book binding, packaging and logistics.

Ryhove’s operations had expanded multiple times, but their physical environment remained very inefficient. Management had two choices going forward :

1) Build new construction on an industrial park far out of the city

2) Renovate the existing site

With the help of TRANS architectuur, who have been involved with many re-purposed industrial sites in Ghent, Ryhove chose to renovate, re-organize for optimal efficiency, and keep their long-term employees (including those with disabilities) in the same neighbourhood.

Ryhove shows that urban lean manufacturing, especially on a larger scale, can be respectful to their residential neighbors — both in physical form and operational usage.

The reorganization included:

1) Offices and administration ( street side)

2) Logistics and loading docks (center)

3) Large factory spaces (rear)

The overall site is quite large, but the office massing and familiar rooflines feel appropriate to the residential rowhouses and street.