Doktoren (Residential Tower 1) is the first residential tower on the Cadix site — a Binst Architects design that reads like an architectural pennant of 81 metres at the Kempisch Dok.
© photo Jurgen Elst
The characteristic silhouette came about by deliberately pulling the lower floors away from the hospital — for more light and space. A slender base with projecting terraces carries a wider upper body with recessed terraces, so the tower reads as an iconic needle at the dock.
A slender base with projecting terraces, a wider upper body with recessed terraces.
Doktoren is not alone: Het Eilandje is marked by a cluster of towers. Here is how the tower compares in height to its neighbours.
From east to west · Doktoren highlighted
© photo Jurgen Elst
Depending on where you are in the building, you look out over the historic city and the cathedral, the Scheldt, the harbour or the marina of the Kempisch Dok. At the top, on the 23rd floor, there is a shared roof terrace with greenery — open to all residents of the tower.
Behind the façade sits a building that runs on collective, efficient systems — with an eye on consumption, comfort and safety.
Gas heating with individual consumption metering per apartment. The building is prepared to be connected to a district heating network in the future.
Two passenger lifts for everyday traffic and one large moving and goods lift for bulk transport, deliveries and moves.
A sprinkler system, smoke and heat extraction and a central fire control panel together safeguard the whole building.
Doktoren stands on Het Eilandje — Antwerp's oldest harbour district, today one of the city's most sought-after places to live.
The tower stands in the Cadix district, on the corner of Kempenstraat and Binnenvaartstraat. This Nieuwstad was laid out around 1550 by Gilbert van Schoonbeke, and only got the name Eilandje ("little island") in 1869, when docks and the Scheldt fully enclosed it. After the harbour shifted north, the area declined — until it was rediscovered this century as a place to live. Nearby lies Park Spoor Noord, built on a former marshalling yard.
The site forms one whole: a central hospital — ZAS Cadix, opened in 2023 — flanked by residential towers, on a shared underground structure with storage, parking and bike storage. Doktoren (Residential Tower 1) is the first residential tower, designed by Binst Architects and developed by Immpact and Kairos. Across the way rises the Twist Tower (Residential Tower 2); a third tower is planned by Park Spoor Noord.
The whole site rests on a single two-level underground structure — with storage, parking and bike storage. Above it, the tower shares a few fine spots.
The lobby, with its shared toilet and kitchenette, can be used by residents for a private event — on request and with the property manager's approval.
During such an event the lobby can be partly closed off; residents then temporarily use the second entrance door.
Sockets are provided for charging electric bikes or scooters.
There is a shared charging infrastructure for EVs to which individual charging stations can be connected — future-proof for later expansion.
At the entrance there is an emergency stop that shuts down the entire charging infrastructure at once in case of need.
Doktoren sits on the Eilandje, a short walk from tram and bus and right by the Ring. Explore the public transport, shared mobility, car parks and cycling and walking routes nearby below — with real-time data from Slim naar Antwerpen.
Map & real-time data: Slim naar Antwerpen (City of Antwerp).