La chemiserie
LOCATION
Brussels, Belgium
CLIENT
SERAPI sprl
AREA
5 937 sqm above ground
PROGRAM
Housing
PROJECT
2020
STATUS
Built
Built in 1904, this monumental brick industrial building has been listed on the Brussels Heritage Preservation Register since 2001. Initially a shirt factory, it was later converted into a printing press, office space, and acquired in 2011 by Serapi to be converted into housing.
The building, located in an inner courtyard and surrounded by green space (previously used as parking), is U-shaped and bordered by small houses originally intended for the shirt factory’s workers. This unique context gives the project special significance in the heart of Molenbeek. The plan includes the creation of 67 mid-range residential units, with a focus on larger apartments to meet specific municipal demand while keeping the overall project density low. The building’s transformation requires the addition of six new vertical circulation cores to serve the apartments. These will be distributed across the first three floors for the simplex apartments and on the top floor and attic for the duplex apartments. The new access points will involve converting existing window sills into entrance doors. This adaptation is the only significant change to the original façade and is integrated into its restoration and enhancement.
As the ground floor is semi-buried, the park level has been lowered inside the "U" shape to facilitate access to the new entry vestibules, while creating a setback to ensure privacy for the ground-floor apartments. At the rear of the building, the driveway on Rue Jules Delhaize provides access to parking areas, grouped under wooden pergolas along the party walls. Pedestrians enter through an archway built into one of the houses on Chaussée de Gand, controlled by a double perforated steel gate. The gate gives a glimpse of the large shared green space surrounding the building. Additionally, the demolition of post-1904 annex structures is one of the key modifications, enabling better valorization of the heritage while addressing contemporary urban planning needs.
