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The company as a place of convergence
Case study - PROJET U
How can we turn a disused building into a vibrant and successful public institution?
Project U is the story of the conversion of a disused office building (the old Fabricom headquarters) into a welcoming town hall housing 450 Uccle administrative officers. This aims to promote connections between services and improve citizens’ experience. The project combines respect for heritage with sustainable environmental performance to create a powerful working tool. It also serves as a public institution with a strong identity at the entrance to Brussels. A winning project of the be.exemplary award in 2017.
Projet U - Uccle Administrative centre
Description
Transformation of an office building into a administrative centre.
Responsible
Gilles Goffin
Partners
MK Engineering
-Steel & Co Engineering
Location
Uccle, Brussels
Client
Municipality of Uccle
Area
14.600 m²
Reassigning with respect
In 2014, instead of building a new infrastructure, the Uccle municipality acquired the “Fabricom” building, a disused 1970s structure. The set of buildings, characteristic of their time, presented real architectural qualities in the heart of a remarkable green area. The major challenge of the project? Transforming an infrastructure designed for private companies into space for an open administration, whilst preserving its heritage.
First, we redefined the private surroundings as a public park. The historic entrance on Gatti de Gamond street seemed too secretive and not very open to the public. So we conceived of a new entrance, installed in the park on the front of Stalle Street. To facilitate interactions between public officials and citizens, we have created a “citizen area” at the park entrance. This provides access to all floors and all services of the town hall, but is also a place in its own right dedicated to citizens.
A meeting invitation
The citizen space channels all public movement on the park side, ensuring the security of the town hall. We have also separated the movements of staff and the public, with the exception of the ground floor which is accessible to visitors. Parts of the building even remain accessible outside opening hours, out of the desire to maximise public access: the citizen area, the reception and conviviality spaces and the large conference rooms on the roof are independent of the town hall’s administrative functioning.
We have imagined flexible and fully modifiable office spaces to meet the evolving needs of an ever-changing administration. We have also anchored the project in the long term by including more permanent places like the cafeteria. We have given special importance to the quality of the halls and passageways, always linked to the park and bathed in natural light, so that they become places of informal meetings.
Circular economy and sustainable development
From the start of the project, we have considered all our choices through the prism of the circular economy. We took into account social and heritage aspects, but also energy savings and environmental performance. We conducted a comprehensive study to identify elements that could be reused. We worked to drastically reduce energy expenditure, while preserving the external façade of architectural concrete. Innovative technical solutions have also been proposed: we will lead a pilot project in collaboration with Vivaqua, which uses energy from wastewater from the sewer system to heat and cool the building (riothermia).
Project U makes a strong statement at the entrance of the city and brings a refreshing diversity to the neighbourhood. Recognized as a remarkable example of sustainable urban redevelopment by the jury of the be.exemplary prize in 2017, the project is proof that it is possible to renovate a monofunctional Brussels building of the 60s and 70s in an economical, high-quality and efficient way. This heritage is currently too often demolished or transformed with little regard.
“The project is proof that it is possible to revive a monofunctional Brussels building from the 60s and 70s. A heritage which is often faced with demolition or brutal transformation, this style’s qualities are frequently underestimated: we show that another way is possible.”
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