Passing the torch at architectesassoc+

In 2000, after having collaborated together for almost a decade, architects Sabine Leribaux and Marc Lacour founded architectesassoc. Through a creative collaboration fueled by salutary if not comfortable confrontations between the ideals they share and the hardboiled yet endlessly inspiring constraints that exposition to the realness outside oneself provides, they have unwaiveringly called for innovative and responsible service in the practice of

DAMES BLANCHES: SELECTED FOR COMPETITION

architectesassoc+, teaming up with architects Atelier Kempe Thill, Ney&Partners, Studie 10, PS2, Idea Consult and De Fonseca, is proud to announce that we are one of 5 partnerships selected by Brussels’ public housing developer SLRB to participate in the DAME BLANCHE competition, featuring a sustainable neighborhood with 200 new homes, a day-care center and other community amenities. Design workshops, and all those questions, should start before end

CCN: DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY

architectesassoc+ wishes to express its best blessings and extend its thanks to all those that make the ideals we strive for that much more pertinent, decent and doable. The engagements we share with you have consistently guided us, whatever the pitfalls, during an intense 2021. And at the dawn of 2022 we wonder, will it be more of the same?  For example, in our studio much of 2021 was spent wrapping up extensive evaluations of the existing

PACHECO: TENDER DOCUMENTS READY, PERMITS DUE

With three unfruitful demolition-newbuild drafts consummated, the fourth draft _ heavy refurb of the maintained existing building _ has finally been approved by City Authorities and public alike, proving to be both the most complex and the most rewarding of options. Indeed, close collaborations with invested client Befimmo, Brussels’ Heritage experts, engineers Arcadis and Ney&partners/WOW have brought to light a vast panoply of generous urban

UNICITY: PERMITS DELIVERED

Permits for architectesassoc’s UNICITY project in the city of Luxembourg for clients IKO Real Estate and THOMAS&PIRON LUX have been delivered by local Authorities. Discussions with the latter have been long, intense, challenging but more than worthwhile, resulting in an atuned mix of housing, retail and offices geared for regeneration in a neighborhood full of potential, and already booming. A public open-air plaza is purposely positioned on the

CANAL WHARF ON SITE

Construction of phase 2 has started on CANAL WHARF, including the south-facing ensemble designed by architectesassoc+. The planned volume is aligned on an east-west pedestrian passageway punched straight thru the densely built waterfront terrain, visually connecting the innards of Brussels’ Pentagon with the canal panorama and the city’s outskirts yonder.  Demolitions done the vistas from one bank to another are already inviting,

LAST PHASES ON ORBAN NEARING COMPLETION

Upgrading this existing ensemble in order to conform to the strictest European Commission standards has been a long haul. Early on the project scope expanded, reaching a current total of 28 000 sqm. Furthermore the initial environment-minded decision NOT to demolish the present interconnecting volumes _ of all different sizes, shapes and ages dating from the early 1900’s all the way to the 1980’s _ has expectedly brought its unforeseen share of

TOWARDS A CIRCULAR FUTURE

Although the term circular design has more recent origins, since its creation more than 20 years ago architectesassoc+ has been investigating and engaging in this direction. Indeed, at their time of conception back when low-energy construction was the primary focus, Aeropolis II (2006) and the ELIA headquarters (2010) were respectively the largest passive and NZEB office buildings in the Benelux. But they were also first-of-a-kind reversible,

JARDIN D'UNION: SETTLING IN

With site follow-up done and full occupancy nearly reached, the JARDIN D’UNION housing project is winding up. The wide variety flat types has attracted a vibrant array of occupants, and the density implemented has helped communal space feel animated and safe both outside and in where the modestly-sized landings shared by a limited number of neighbours makes mingling all the more accessible. As a bonus privately owned flats mix with low-income

Canal Wharf set to start

With tender documents ready, and permits due this summer … Canal Wharf for client AG Real Estate is set to start on site by the end of the year. Following a Masterplan adopted in 2014, the project tightly fits into a corner plot shown left in orange, poised on the southern edge of this canal-side city block adjacent to the studio’s soon completed RIVA project shown right in green.  Optimum sunshine reaches the insides of the 71 flats proposed, and

HAVESKERCKE - BAMBOO: FITTING IN

Work on site on HAVESKERCKE and BAMBOO streets has come to an end. Specifically, efficient teamwork with contractor Herpain Entreprises has led to meeting both budget and deadline: doubts and difficulties due to the complex nature of the site, notably hydro-geological aspects, were managed smoothly with the support of experts present. Indeed, starting at design stage neighbors and Authorities were with reason intent on examining all possible negative

CCN DEVELOPMENT

Following an international call for projects launched in 2019 by ATENOR, AG Real Estate and AXA IM on the existing CCN site adjacent to Brussels’ North Station (Centre Congrès Nord) shown here, the jury has selected the design proposed by architectesassoc+_Multiple_TVK. The planned 160.000 m² development articulating this key part of Brussels’ North District is a significant act of long-term faith in what we consider important at the studio:

Visites du site Greenbizz dans le cadre de l'Archiweek Brussels 2019 (19 et 20 octobre 2019)

L'Archiweek Brussels 2019 (journées de l'architecture en Région de Bruxelles-Capitale) se tiendra du 18 au 22 octobre 2019. Elle vise à valoriser et promouvoir l'architecture contemporaine à Bruxelles.Un colloque international dédié à un thème spécifique (le béton), des conférences d'architectes étrangers renommés (Jan Richter et Pascale Richter - Equerre d'argent 2018 - et Kasper Jensen de

City Dox

CITY DOX is architectesassoc+’s first project alongside the western stretch of Brussels’canal zone. The project is an exercise in mixity, offering not just housing (93 flats) but also ultra-modular workspace floating atop an uninterrupted semi-industrial ground floor. Accordingly, density and synergy are critical issues here, leading to attentively assembled volumes conglomerating to form a coherent city block, itself just one

HD54 COMPLETED

December 2018 marks the end of work on HD54, delivering 10.000sqm of office space for client AXA BELGIUM after more than 18 months of heavy refurbishment. The transformed built and unbuilt forms and landscaping have considerably modified the initial 1980’s building. Notable changes outside include a new staggered skyline overlooking the Forêt de Soignes, a scaled down mass responding to low-lying neighbours north, and large carved-out loggias offering

Leopold Views, to be inaugurated this autumn

Leopold Views aims at pertinently converting an office building into a residential ensemble. The principal quandary here therefore is the squaring of the well-being of the future diverse occupants of the tower with living in what was essentially dry and dull work space. To achieve this, each interior area benefits from a wood-decked terrace which acts as a fluid transition between inside and out, so providing residents

JARDIN D'UNION DUE IN AUTUMN

163 new homes will be finished here by autumn, complete with street-level shops and offices, a day-care centre, and communal amenities. Facade details are now apparent  and notably white metal work contrasting with grey brick, while interior finishes progress. The busy boulevard relates with the sloped gardens behind via two generous double-height porches strategically positioned to create effective permeability between front and back. These

CANAL DISTRICT DONE

Developed by client Besix Red, CANAL DISTRICT has reached completion. Façades in light-coloured plissé aluminium are finished, with glazed street-entrances animating the ground floor and extending all the way back to court-side. Here dark-toned balconies cantilevered 3m out are all in place, carefully arranged to ensure maximum privacy for all occupants. A double-height porch precisely positioned on the rue Notre-Dame du Soleil's fold now bears its

RIVA ON SITE

RIVA, including canal-side housing and a public plaza, is designed by architectesassoc for client Extensa. On site since end 2017, it is due finished mid-2019. The plaza will connect the Quartier Nord east and the Tours&Taxis neighbourhood west and from it a long-awaited bridge already under construction will bring pedestrians from one bank to another, along with a new bus line. Thus the project's potential impact at city-scale, similar to that of a

HOUSING EUROPEA, CERTIFICATES SUBMITTED

EUROPEA, designed by lead architect Jean-Paul Viguier with Art&Built, for clients Unibail-Rodamco-Besix-CFE, is a multi-functional project on Brussels' plateau du Heysel north of town. architectesassoc has been invited to join a team of seven architects working on the residential part, designing a 5.600sqm unit.This is in fact a new neighbourhood destined to offer 220.000sqm of commercial and recreational space and 66.000sqm of housing. J-P Viguier has

CITY DOCKS

Principal volumes on CITY DOCKS are now visible, façades and interiors on their way. Street-side façades follow a repetitive grid (shown here) conforming to the modular semi-industrial function below, but canal-side variation purposely reigns with a hop-scotch of carved-in terraces, balconies, single and double height units and rooftop living space all already visible. The photo above highlights the project's most difficult challenge: how to create a

CHAUSSEE D'IXELLES IN PROGRESS

Squeezed into a tight-knit traditional city-block, this mixed-use project CHAUSSEE D'IXELLES also integrates complex rehabilitation issues due to the historic wrought-iron structure covering most of the grand hall central to the project, dutifully restored and shown here. architectesassoc insisted not just on keeping theses delicate trusses, but on reintegrating between them skylights unfortunately obliterated years ago. For the large-scale PRIMARK soon to

JEAN GLIBERT. PEINTRE EN BATIMENT

Exhibition of the artist's work at BOZAR, Brussels' Centre for Fine Arts, including BELMONT COURT and CENTRE MAISIN on which Jean Glibert and architectesassoc collaborated. Except from the curators:"Since the late 1960's the painter Jean Glibert (Brussels, 1938) has pursued a creative logic in his work that is close to that of the architect. From the method of finalising the designs through to completion and reception by the client, his work displays the

WORLD nZEB FORUM 2017

Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) will be mandatory in the EU by 2020 : the WORLD nZEB FORUM held in Ireland last November brought together experts in the field from Europe and the US, defending what is considered "a paradigm shift in how we design, build and operate the spaces where we live and work". The opening talk by Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy described the scale of collective efforts to be made, followed by Scott Foster (Director, Sustainable

AA IN NEW YORK CITY

architectesassoc took a much needed breather end 2017 in the Big Apple. In no particular order: street art or Whitney veneer, bagels, buildings and the Bronx, Vinoly's superbe high-rise and Bloomberg's controversial High Line, Big's self-centered pyramid ("et moi, et moi, et moi") and Sanaa's generous white boxes, Soho breakfasts followed by Central Park picnics, multi-functional city blocks that function fine, star-architecture that doesn't even try

Vote for us in cannes march 14-17!

For architectesassoc, GREENBIZZ’s nomination this spring as MIPIM AWARDS FINALIST is a heart-warming and encouraging turn of events : a fantastic occasion for our office to advocate for what we call people-projects. But shouldn’t all projects be people-projects ? GREENBIZZ’s strategic location and role as sustainable incubator in the midst of a neighbourhood teeming with potential might seem

HD54 permit delivered

Entering Brussels from the east, the Forêt de Soignes abrubtly ends on your right giving rise to a non-descript string of questionable 1980’s po-mo feats. That said, however dissuasive the sculptural antics, the main issue is that these obsolete relics constitute Brussels’ greatest contribution to GHG. Tear it all down ? but HD54’s existing structure is sound, and volumes surprisingly promising.

City Dox on site

A century back mixity was an integral and unquestioned part of city living : imagine Amsterdam’s Canal Houses commingling shops, living quarters and attics for stock. Today it’s become tricky, especially at large scale, and CITY DOX on site since end 2016 is no exception to the rule. Built on a non-descript brownfield site stranded alongside a noisy car-ridden artery, the project combines housing, offices, and

Horta prize 20th anniversary exhibition

The CENTRE MAISIN pictured was the first architectesassoc project to receive recognition from the Horta Prize jurors in 2005, followed by EMPEREUR in 2016. The SADBr behind the competition since 1996 wishes to mark its 20th anniversary with an exhibition in the city centre at the Halles Saint-Gery this spring.  Actively supported by Brussels City Authorities, the SADBr’s aim is to defend « architectural

belgium new architecture

GREENBIZZ is honoured to be once again present in this year’s BELGIUM NEW ARCHITECTURE, the sixth in a series edited by Prisme Editions examining significant achievements in architecture on belgian soil in recent years. As an introduction, writer Pierre Loze meets Christian Kieckens for an informal conversation about current architecture and its future. Steven Beckers presents his research « The Paradigm Shift Towards Urban Food

Developing Brussels' waterfront

Side by side, two of architectesassoc’s upcoming housing projects alongside the canal sit left and right of the pedestrian Pont Picard currently at tender stage. CANAL WHARF (developed by AGRealEstate & Vooruitzicht) and QUAI DE WILLEBROECK (developed by Extensa) will together actively participate in regenerating a zone brimming with potential. Indeed, these two choice waterfront locations confirm Brussels’ effort to

Jardin d'union on site

The majority of jardin d'union’s principal volumes are now visible, offering a view of the coming skyline. Not easy slipping 163 new homes into the existing built fabric unnoticed … especially when they emerge all at once … but the limited number of flats organized around each vertical distribution thus breaking the ensemble up into digestible sub-parts should help. The dark brick skin will soon appear, and

Metrolab brussels

METROLAB is a transdisciplinary laboratory for applied and critical urban research, formed by universities UCL and ULB, and financed through european funding (ERDF). It involves collaborations between 4 existing research centers stemming from these two academic poles, scholars from 15 other european and american universities, and 5 key regional institutions.architectesassoc was invited to talk about inclusion, and

Orban

Hidden behind a majestic neo-classical façade facing one of the Quartier Leopold’s most iconic squares, ORBAN comprises 17000sqm of existing office space. The dense extremely efficient lay-out concentrates views overlooking peaceful inner-block gardens, proposing accesses on both the Square Orban west and the Rue d’Arlon east. Like HD54, these intrinsic qualities already making the most of what the site has to

Chaussee d'ixelles

This 9000sqm retail and housing development includes the exhaustive but careful renovation of a delicate century-old steel and concrete structure nestled in the heart of a typical city block in the dense neighbourhood of Ixelles. The client Redevco Belgium and architectesassoc are pushing to integrate both retail and housing here, keen on proving that neither of the two is necessarily exclusive. That said, as in

Greenbizz: recycling, research, and urban density

GREENBIZZ’s ecosystem is slowly but very surely taking form, welcoming fresh arrivals and long-time friends alike. Newcomer FABLAB BRUSSELS for example has decided to join the party, moving into one of the project’s largest workshops shown above. Sign of our collaborative times : interior design for the lab (conducted by opla architects) will integrate a whole range of recycled fit-out material including

A good city has industry

architectesassoc’s GREENBIZZ project is exposed at Brussels’ BOZAR museum from October 26 to January 15. « Industry is a vital part of the rich economic and urban fabric of a vibrant city. The exhibition Atelier Brussels - A Good City Has Industry highlights the need to develop an environment in which a healthy and diverse economy can flourish. The results of research are exhibited and new strategies

WBA carte blanche: architecture of necessity

architectesassoc was invited last spring by the curators of the exhibition ARCHITECTURE OF NECESSITY, an international triennial event encouraging «discussions about the fundamental values of architecture», to submit a proposal for 2016. GREENBIZZ, a deeply engaged project completed this year by architectesassoc was presented. Held in Sweden at the Virserums Konsthall, ARCHITECTURE OF NECESSITY has become since

Greenbizz in inventories #2

« First launched in 2010, the Architectures Wallonie-Bruxelles Inventaires # Inventories collection sets out, every three years, to take stock of recent architectural works in Wallonia and Brussels and illustrate the efforts made by the public authorities and private clients to find an architecture that captures the zeitgeist and helps improve the living environment. (…) The inventory draws on a wide range of

Presence in brussels

2016 marked the studio’s 15th anniversary, commended by the exhibition PRESENCE IN BRUSSELS at the gallery Louise 186 from september 16th to 18th. On this occasion, architectesassoc invited the photographer Renaud Callebaut to capture through his lens the studio’s contribution to Brussels’ cityscape. Carte-blanche was purposely given allowing him to apprehend and restitute his own personal vision, resulting

Moving day rue de namur

Brussels’ Planning Authorities have moved into their new headquarters RUE DE NAMUR, making themselves at home. The open see-through ground floor is already colonized by diverse activities and models galore … exhibitions, meeting areas, coffee-corners and picnic-tables creating a steady flow of animation. All of that is visible to passer-by’s … transforming what was once a dark, dreary, opaque

Leopold tower mock-up

Given both the scale of the LEOPOLD project and the level of detailing prefabrication requires, a mock-up has been installed on site. The all-white double-skin envelope replaces the original 1970's dark and dull pre-fab version, proposing instead an insulated timber facade panel equipped with large sliding windows, a 1,6m deep terrace, and perforated sliding screens. Hands-on, all participants can take the time to see,

Greenbizz landed

Greenbizz will be inaugurated April 26, marking the end of a long but exhilarating journey. Client citydev has actively supported the design team throughout the ride, resulting in a confident respectful ambiance even now reaching the end of the road. And Jean-Marc Bryskère, the ensemble’s new director, shares the same people-oriented mindset … imagining what he calls an

Greenbizz: inauguration

GREENBIZZ was coddled, carried, and craved for throughout 10 long years, so most present at the inauguration and notably the client himself, felt it : a tinge of baby blues. But the climax lived up to all expectations complete with pied pipers and a flock of past and present ministers furiously tweeting throughout the event. Both the enterprising team presently managing the site and the freshly arrived occupants

Brussels builds greener

This series of videos BRUSSELS BUILDS GREENER : The Value of Expertise is an initiative of Brussels Invest & Export with the support of Cécile Jodogne, State Secretary in charge of Foreign Trade, and in collaboration with ecobuild.bussels. Its purpose is to bring to the forefront the Region’s specialists in all fields of sustainable design and construction including engineers, contractors, urban planners, and architects including

Empereur up for the horta prize

This year the Brussels HORTA award marks the competition’s 20th anniversary.  architecteassoc’s project EMPEREUR has been selected as finalist in the non-residential category. EMPEREUR is a mixed-use housing and office building in the city centre, inserted with great care in the existing medieval fabric. The Brussels Region organizing the competition wishes to foster design « respecting contexte

a reinvigorated canal zone

The illustration above shows architectesassoc’s investment alongside one of Brussels’ most active building zones for years to come. Multi-functional ensembles are planned here by public and private sectors hand-in-hand, from housing to care homes to workspaces of all kinds, such as those designed by the studio for Atenor (CITY DOCKS) or citydev (GREENBIZZ). But housing gets the

the missing link between tivoli and tour & taxi

Excerpt Pro-RealEstate : « Greenbizz is part of a large-scale redevelopment project called Tivoli in the city centre… This new publicly funded sustainable neighbourhood will include both housing and economic facilities, and responds to the desire of the public authorities to bring new life to urban areas through mixed function developments. The part of the site to be

be bright: go green

«  In a development likely to sharpen debate about indoor environment conditions in office buildings, a study published Monday reports that workers showed significantly lowered cognitive functioning after spending a day in a simulated office environment featuring high concentrations of carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds. By contrast, in conditions set to simulate a

isocarp2015 congress in brussels

« ISOCARP2015 comes at a time of unprecedented global urbanization. Voices from the global level down to the ground – in both the public and private sector - are calling for a « planning » approach to address the complex challenges that this brings. The congress is therefore an opportune time to open up to the world, work together and learn from each other. It is being hosted by The Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. »  The ISOCARP congress

Leopold tower: permits delivered

architectesassoc’s 3-ply competition projet for the reconversion of a 1970’s office block has been re-mastered by client MATEXI, resulting in this flattened-out permit version recently approuved by City and Regional authorities. The debate surrounding its form has not affected its innards comprising more than 200 ultra-modular energy-efficient flats wrapped up in a timber skin, and topped off with a

Prefabrication: surveying dimensional tolerances

Is prefabrication a solution for more sustainable buildings? The number of recent projects giving it a try, for example those developing made-to-measure facade techniques, constitutes an interesting data-base revealing key issues such as dimensional tolerance. This ECOBUILD-BRUSSELS article describes 3 such projects (Aeropolis, Ixelles Brewery, and Greenbizz). When striving for air-tightness, pre-fabrication

canal zone: city docks green light

In great part as a result of the real estate market reacting to the city’s middle-income housing shortage, the canal zone in Brussels has been the object of several recent urban regeneration projects spreading from Anderlecht to Vilvoorde. City Docks for example is the first built entity of a larger–scale Masterplan developped hand-in-hand by client Atenor and planning authorities, covering 2,5 hectares alongside the

rue de namur on site

A multi-disciplinary design team led by client LCEBE (represented by Sophie Le Clercq) has brought together architectesassoc, Setesco, Cenergie and contractor CIT Blaton who have in concert conceived a 7 000 sqm office retro-fit on site now, upgrading circulation routes, facades, user-comfort and overall energy-efficiency. Interior demolitions are rapidly uncluttering existing floorplates revealing high-ceilinged

greenbizz teamwork

« Coming together is the beginning _ keeping together is progress _ working together is success.» (Henry Ford) Greenbizz’s timber-glass canopies shown here under construction constitute a salient example of Ford’s quote. Design requirements plopped together contractor CEI-DEMEYER, engineers from NEY&Partners collaborating with SECO, and cladders Groven+ _ who stuck together after a nervous

canal district: foundations laid

The variety of existing built forms making up this heterogeneous city block explains why excavations and foundations are currently undertaken with such care.  Pollution on site has already been dealt with, so the underground parking will begin to take form soon. Work should finish before end 2016, slipping into place amongst a complex network of existing buildings and party walls. The ensemble will provide

haveskercke - bambou: readying in progress

« What a difference a (tree) makes » … preparations underway include careful pruning and protection of the majestic oaks, birches, and willows conserved … the project itself designed in order to let these trees be, twisting itself complyingly. In a similar respectful manner rooftops follow off-skew geometry allowing maximum sunlight into gardens and flats.

architectesassoc+ on Debate, Dialogue, and getting things Done

This summer’s Libre Essentielle edition presents architectesassoc’s recent work, ongoing reflexions, and future projects. Excerpt : « Si l’on veut s’investir à Bruxelles, cela signifie qu'il faut accepter son contexte tel qu'il est. Notre volonté est de faire comprendre qu'amener de la qualité, provoquer un ressenti positif, développer une vraie réflexion architecturale peut susciter un

architectesassoc+ IN THE NEWS

Greenbizz (finished end 2015) and Elia (finished end 2013) have at least one thing in common:  close-knit teams led by invested clients. On Greenbizz, citydev is represented by Stéphane Stevelinck (Project Developer), and Michel Nederlandt (Manager Methods and Support) served for Elia. Both are key actors making a difference from design stage on through site work, pragmatically getting the job done. It’s day-to-day work, but not short-term:

empereur inauguration

Architectura was present at May’s Conference Press preceding Empereur’s inauguration : « Ce 27 mai 2015, Marc Lacour, du bureau architectesassoc, accueillait la presse au Boulevard de l'Empereur à Bruxelles, pour présenter un bâtiment au programme mixte (bureaux - logements) … Développé par le Groupe Denys, le projet se distingue

greenbizz: last laps

It may not look like it quite yet, but Greenbizz will be finished by september 2015, explaining the increasing rush and excitement on site. Façade cladding is coming to an end, be it the Kerto panels in pressure-treated timber meticulously crafted by Roses’s Natural Homes, the top-floor Kalzip panels in natural aluminium, or the agora’s structural glazing installed by a fantastic team led by Cei-DeMeyer (Jonckheere, Ney&Partners, and

architectesassoc+ at realty 2015

" Realty is Belgium’s only real estate fair, offering a one-stop overview of the real estate business. The event brings you into contact with all key players in the property market – all in one place, in just three days. Realty is first and foremost a networking platform where you can meet high-level decision makers as representatives of the entire Belgian real estate sector. " May 2015 the studio will once again be

belgium: a hotbed of passivhaus

Excerpt from Treehugger : « Belgium appears to be a hotbed of Passivhaus; there are hundreds of them, totalling over 5.4 million square feet, and as of this year every new building in Brussels has to be built to passivhaus standards… It really demonstrates that when a city and a country get serious about sustainability, things can happen fast and make a real

empereur on film

architectesassoc’s Empereur project, completed end 2013, is filmed here by Christophe Dessouroux. The video shows how the building handles its medieval neighbor, boulevard context and  rooftop vistas, with interviews putting forward the client’s open-mindedness matched only by the  the contractor’s hands-on know-how.

greenbizz on film

Greenbizz … funded by FEDER funds and in partnership with citydev.brussels, Bruxelles-Environnement, Innoviris and the CSTC  … will be finished by automn 2015. It will be Belgium’s first incubator specifically tailored to environment-related start-ups, spin-offs and other green-oriented projects, willingly implemented within city limits in order to bring and maintain functional diversity in urban zones. A short video presentation and rental

sustainability on site

The Brussels Environment Agency is organizing a one-day sustainability training program where experts are invited to share their hands-on experience gathered on site. Elodie Léonard from architectesassoc. , who has followed key projects such as Aeropolis, Tervuren, and Greenbizz for the studio, will present the pros and cons of a « bouw-team » approach from design stage all the way through to site survey.

aa wins leopold competition

Matexi has acquired the Tour Léopold , a 1970s mastodon marking one of the city’s major north accesses. Following an invited competition, architectesassoc. has been commissioned to fit 200 new apartments and a welcoming array of extra amenities (shops, day-care center, shared roof-top space, …)  into the existing structure initially occupied by offices. Generous floor-to-ceiling heights, modular spaces, bike-friendly commons,

brussels goes passive, what's in it for architecture

In this book, the Brussels-based university ULB, the Brussels Environment Agency, and the Passive House Platform have asked several experts (architects, engineers, contractors, sponsors, lawyers, …)  including architectesassoc. to share insights on how and where practice MUST change, and how and why think-modes have been modified by the passive uprising. The debate is open, but hooting that 0,6 air-tightness will strangulate the real estate

"Des fenêtres colorées dans la ville", by Y. Zurstrassen

Upgrading the existing building stock is a priority in order to limit carbon emissions and site-impact, but it is also a wonderful exercise in changing our perception of what surrounds us. Here on the avenue de Tervuren in Brussels work recently finished in collaboration with Belgian artist Yves Zurstrassen shows that taking a novel look at what we thought we’d already fully grasped can bring forth both fresh and exemplary sustainable

greenbizz closes the brussels environment agency sustainable building seminar

On February 6th, participants of this seminar organized by the Brussels Environment Agency had the opportunity to examine progress on-site up close. Greenbizz being about no-fuss low-cost sustainable construction, Pauline de Somer from CENERGIE and Laura Claeys from architectesassoc. highlighted the pragmatic choices made here hand-in-hand with citydev. Material choice, techniques, and especially maintenance-impact were discussed.

city docks soon on site?

City Authorities (through its Commision de Concertation) have delivered a positive vote concerning City Docks in Anderlecht, imposing a limited number of conditions. City Docks, facing the canal and bordering the Boulevard Industriel, is a new neighbourhood imagined by Atenor : architectesassoc. has been commisionned to design 118 homes organized atop a suspended plaza overlooking the canal and its verdant landscape, part of a large-scale

best wishes

Best wishes for 2015 from architectesassoc.

square de meeus: finished?

Almost. Refurbishment of this 1970s mastodon concerns interior fit-out and services, offering greater user-comfort and energy efficiency. New finishes upgrade comfort, and extensive efforts are made in order to bring the building up to code concerning Belgian fire-safety regulations.

canal district kickoff

Demolitions have started on the Clos du Marais housing scheme, in the booming Canal District. 205 flats and a day-care center are programmed, organized around a semi-public planted garden. Due end 2016, the ensemble is designed in order to meet PassiveHouse standards.

brussels' head architect presents work accomplished

Olivier Bastin’s five-year mandate comes to an end : this exhibition and book presents key projects  his team participated in including Greenbizz, notably promoted by Bastin. The book presents crucial projects soon-to-come in Brussels, most public but some private, and offers at least a glimpse of the work-process (thought-process ?) implemented by his team.

10 years in the making

First sketches of the Boulevard de l’Empereur project date back to 2005, but the result was worth the wait. All parties appreciated the intense collaboration with committed client and contractors, carefully monitored by Brussels Heritage radars. The minimalist concrete structure is wrapped with metal-clad prefabricated timber panels, ensuring energy efficiency through air-tightness, insulation, and dual-flow ventilation.

"translating is about communicating ideas, not words!" by p. leribaux

Running your business is a challenging and exciting affair at the best of times, and isn’t for the faint-hearted. So, making sure that these efforts don’t go unaccounted for is essential. And at the heart of all this is communicating your business’ core values and raison d’être, not to mention highlighting the team-behind-the-scene that makes your product genuine and wholly worthwhile for your potential clients and partners. “How a

sustainable neighborhoods, tivoli case study: conference organized at the saint louis university brussels

Researchers from USL-B, ULB and UCL universities covering several fields including sociology, political sciences, city planning and architecture presented their recent work and opinions focusing on the Tivoli neighborhood in Brussels (of which Greenbizz is a part of) .  City mutations, participation, public action, the institutionalization of sustainable criteria, identity, and the ever-present impact of power politics were discussed. Talks were

be.passive magazine: elia headquarters

Michel Nederlandt, who represented Elia here from almost beginning to end, explains with Mattias D’Hooghe and Sabine Leribaux how the project got started, how and why it evolved as design, matured, and how occupants today interact with the built result. Flexibility, crucial both today and tomorrow, is also addressed, with precise aspects such as the building’s modular skeleton and plug-in/plug-out pre-fabricated timber façades depicted.

Exemplary NZEB moored canal zone

The canal is « the place to be » today in Brussels, but just a few years back when ELIA decided to build its headquarters here that was not yet the case. In this sense choosing this quartier was a first visionary step, preceding many others to come such as striving for optimum energy efficiency. Indeed, the 2009 competition brief called for « something green » … the client’s inbred

architects and advocates predict passive revolution

architectesassoc. was present at the 2014 NYPH conference, explaining how brussels went passive, and why, for so many reasons, it’s a non-event : « If architecture is about generosity, then we are probably just doing our job, » said S. Leribaux describing the studio's latest projects. Gunter Lang and Diana Urge Vorsatz also presenting took the same stance. The constraints of PH and their (positive) impact on the european construction market were

a+ magazine: elia headquarters

However nzeb the proposal, however passive the prefabricated skin, however polluted the soil … the Elia  project is first and foremost about expressing identity. This article by Cecile Vandernoot  explains the genesis of the project., and exactly what Marc Lacour means by « liquid architecure ».

brussels walks the green talk

Excerpt from Flanders Today : « No, Brussels will not be the European Green Capital of 2015. It lost out the European Commission’s competition for the most eco-friendly city to Bristol in the UK last year. But in making it to the final stage with just four other remaining candidate cities, Brussels convincingly demonstrated its green chops.  And with ambitious plans for a start-up

the canal zone, head first

architectesassoc. , 51N4E, and Stephane Beel have won an invited competition organized by AG Real Estate and Vooruitzicht for the design of 28000 sqm of mostly housing alongside the canal. Apartments (passive) are positionned around a federating but not completely enclosed central patio which will be open to the public day-time. Lengthy discussions and work sessions between offices and an invested client have given rise to a fine-tuned

aj launches the green rethink, a conference to radically redefine sustainability

The Brussels-based architectesassoc. partner Sabine Leribaux runs through upcoming Belgium regulations governing ‘new build and heavy refurb’ and asks how they will impact on housing …  and office schemes in the future. With reference to ventilation, sun shielding and insulation details from two of the practice’s home-grown schemes - Elia and Aeropolis II - Leribaux explains how the government (which partially funded

architectesassoc+ conference at the bozar

Regional authorities organized an AWEEK (architectural week) in October 2013, complete with an extensive series of conferences by Belgian architects. Marc Lacour and Sabine Leribaux from architectesassoc. were invited to present recent projects, and the think-modes fueling them. In all, 25 conferences were given by architects and investors alike, with debates animated by O. Bastin and P. Swinnen for example. Site visits, an exhibition, and open-office

brussels greenbizz - genesis presented at the 2012 phsymposium

Embracing a myriad of intertwining criteria, the inherent complexity of not only Greenbizz but of the general issue of sustainable thinking has been welcomed and integrated during its genesis. This paper from the 2012 PHsymposium explains that the design process here has obviously taken its cue from Aeropolis and Elia ... but with one fundamental shift prompted from day one by citydev’s competition brief : Greenbizz's key challenge is not just about

From Elia to breeam to bre and the performance gap

Following ELIA’s BREEAM certification, , architectesassoc. participated in this BRE research program undertaken to compare ways in which four european countries are tackling / understanding the gap between the expected energy efficiency of homes when designed and their as-built performance. They investigated in each country:     - the awareness of the construction industry of this issue ;     - the

UK centre for the built environment (cbe) reports on brussels

« This report was commissioned by the Centre for the Built Environment (CBE), part of the Adapt Low Carbon Group at the University of East Anglia. CBE is a centre that draws upon a cluster of expertise on low energy and sustainable construction both within and outside UEA and is responsible for delivery of the Exemplar Low Carbon Building project funded by the EU Regional Development Fund, UEA and UK

aeropolis II: make it simple

Excerpt Architectura :« L'immeuble de bureaux novateur brille par sa simplicité. Le concept unique augmente la facilité d'utilisation et offre une sensation de confort plus élevée que dans un immeuble classique. Etant donné qu'il n'a pas été nécessaire de recourir à des techniques classiques complexes et coûteuses, des

elia headquarters presented at 2012 phsymposium

Contrary to what could have been expected, technical issues although complex were not the hardest to handle imagining Elia’s new headquarters. The real challenge was the scope of continually evolving information and constraints to be integrated into the design. The result is deciphered in this paper for the 2012 PHsymposium in Brussels.

bruxelles architecture de 1950 a aujourd'hui

More like a catalogue, over 400 built projects in Brussels are presented here offering a clear and recognizable whiff of what makes up the city. This is an honest no-frills view of key projects … some pertinent, some less so. From the 1960s beehive concept at the CBR Headquarters (by Brodzki/Lambrichs, pgs 58-59)  to the National Theatre’s  transluscent veil 50 years later (by

exemplary buildings, success stories from brussels

“… is it possible to imagine a city becoming more beautiful, more practical and more economical to live in, while at the same time becoming more sustainable ? This was the challenge the Brussels-Capital Region set itself in 2007 – and its response was to launch the BATEX call for (exemplary) projects … the whole idea is to leverage each project, whether large or small, whether private or public, to spread the

the nzeb trail: bpie report

« Following its main mission to contribute to the improvement of the buildings’ energy performance across Europe, BPIE started in December 2010 a study to support the EPBD implementation by developing a well-founded opinion on principles for nearly Zero-Energy Buildings, based on the current status and on existing concepts for low energy buildings. The nZEB study is designed to lead to:

shared architecture

This special issue of the quarterly magazine BE.PASSIVE (in english) announces Brussels’ 2015 passive plunge. Marta Di Vincenzo‘s article page 33 presents Aeropolis II (cover picture) with extensive descriptions of the work process, detailing and on-site adjustments. She concludes : « … examples of projects such as this, highly positive in terms of architectural quality, energy savings and comfort mean that

belgium new architecture

The series BELGIUM NEW ARCHITECTURE presents a carefully selected array of contemporary projects in Belgium, including the National Theatre, the Royale-Brialmont, and Aeropolis II.  The editors’ enthousiastic hope is to promote calculated risk in architecture : daring something new and fresh, initiating change … and convincing  readers through the built examples shown that it’s down-to-earth do-able

aeropolis II in eurbanlab

Aeropolis II is showcased in Eurbanlab. « The aim of Eurbanlab is to connect solution providers of climate innovations with end-users, and enable them to share, learn and transfer concepts and technologies in order to accelerate the transition to low-carbon climate resilient cities … The challenge is to accelerate innovation cycles in cities and overcome a general reluctance to invest in innovative and systemic projects. The process and