IRAS16279−4757 belongs to a group of post-AGB stars showing both PAH bands and crystalline silicates. We present mid-infrared images, that resolve the object for the first time. The morphology is similar to that of the ‘Red Rectangle’ (HD 44179), the prototype object with PAHs and crystalline silicates. A two-component model and images suggest a dense oxygen-rich torus, an inner, low-density carbon-rich region and a carbon-rich bipolar outflow. The PAH bands are enhanced at the outflow, while the continuum emission is concentrated towards the center. Our findings support the suggestion that mixed chemistry and morphology are closely related. We discuss the ISO/SWS spectra of IRAS16279−4757. Several bands in the ISO/SWS spectrum show a match with anorthite: this would be the first detection of this mineral outside the solar system. Compared to HD 44179, the shapes of PAH bands are closer to those of planetary nebulae, possibly related to a population of small PAHs present HD 44179, but absent around IRAS16279−4757. Detailed examination of the Department of Physics, UMIST, P.O. Box 88, Manchester M60 1QD, UK ESTEC/ESA, PO Box 299, 2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands Astronomical Institute ‘Anton Pannekoek’, University of Amsterdam, Kruislaan 403, 1098 SJ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Instituut voor Sterrenkunde, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200B, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1562, USA SIRTF fellow Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, Yamashina, Kyoto 607-8412, Japan Department of Earth and Space Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-0043, Japan Mail Code SR, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas 77058, USA