Crèche Station

This mixed project integrating a Daycare Centre, a Childrens’ Center and residential units convivially composes with the listed former train station of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode adjacent, and the wide and leafy avenue running alongside the site.

The housing program, in order to prolong this shaded and permeable ambiance, is completely open on its two lower levels. At street-level, the building is set back from the road allowing for a wider sidewalk and thus easier access to the Daycare Centre. All accesses to the three intended purposes of the project are distinctly organized, in that the entrance to the Daycare Center is situated alongside the avenue, that of the residential units on the more intimate Rue Dekeyn, while that of the Childhood Center is situated on the corner itself.

Forming one continuous envelope, the metallic cladding covers the entire volume. This galvanized outer sheet is transformed according to the building’s needs, pierced to become at once guardrails or shutters, or simply to allow the underlying color to shine out. As such, this multi-layered envelope reflects the endeavors going on inside. The Daycare Center for example, a universe of play and stimulation, expresses itself outwardly through a polychromatic and joyous skin, inviting to exploration of self and the surrounding world.