51N4E . photos: © Sepideh Farvardin
The belt around Brussels is not really known as a destination for residents of Brussels. Nevertheless, its beauty and character are striking. Long considered the natural space outside the city, today the vision of this area is changing. The territory of Neerpede is increasingly being developed as an urban amenity in its own right – at once landscaped and metropolitan. Continue reading 51N4E
51N4E . Jaspers-Eyers . l’auc architectes et urbanistes
The innovative project ‘ZIN in No(o)rd’ aims to reuse the emblematic WTC I and II towers located in the heart of the Northern Quarter in Brussels. Instead of a simple restoration of the existing building, it is a question here of adding an unprecedented dimension to the project by connecting the towers with a new volume of 14 double-height floors, creating a new condition for the development of a hybrid building mixing a new way of working on housing, a hotel, sports and leisure spaces, shops and lots of vegetation. The relationship to the city is also completely redesigned with an open-ground floor with many addresses, developing a range of relationships to the city and the public space. The project is thus a response to the surrounding context and future developments. This new flexible concept will introduce a new standard in Europe for large-scale mixed buildings.
Continue reading 51N4E . Jaspers-Eyers . l’AUC
51N4E . photos: © Dieter van Caneghem
The province of Limburg is a fragmented region, characterized by a collection of nature reserves, industrial remnants and automotive infrastructures. However, this disconnected landscape is changing: as part of a recent, transit-oriented, masterplan, soon the Spartacus-2 or HOVHM trambus will connect Hasselt to Maasmechelen—linking city centers, suburban housings, office buildings and wilderness zones by public transport. Continue reading 51N4E
51n4e . photos: © 51n4e
Amid the redevelopment of a historic albeit neglected block in Antwerp, the project for six dwellings and a commercial space stands at the crossover between a public square and a more intimate urban courtyard,revitalizing two abandoned buildings. Through the creation of new volumes, the two contexts are each addressed in their own specificities while focusing on a densely organized programme combined with a richness in terms of spatiality and flexibility. Continue reading 51n4e
Victoria is a landmark building constructed between 1974 and 1978 as the Belgian headquarters of IBM in the Northern Quarter of Brussels. The emblematic architecture related to the IBM identity is assumed as an archetypical value and therefore serves as the starting point for future development. The refurbishment aspires to transform the existing structure into a hybrid, fossil-free, low-energy building and maximizes the reuse of building materials. As such, the concrete and steel structure is considered as a permanent heritage for future change. Imperfections and the roughness of the concrete structures are kept visible, even in the corporate office spaces. Continue reading 51N4E
