LA CHOCOLATERIE
LOCATION / Brussels, Belgium
CLIENT / KORAMIC
AREA / 5 489 sqm above ground
PROGRAM / Housing
PROJECT / 2018
STATUS / Under construction
It was in the 1850s that chocolate factory Antoine was founded. Located on the rue du Prince Royale in Ixelles, it extended into the interior of the block in 1903 in the former buildings of the Berden piano factory. Since its closure in 1947, the industrial site has undergone numerous reassignments before being acquired by Koramic. It is therefore a question of changing the use, the chocolate factory will host offices and apartments.This project focuses on the industrial heritage of the area and seeks to highlight the most emblematic buildings of the site. To do this, the site is relieved of its small annexes and industrial warehouses. This makes it possible to expose the facades of the main buildings, freed from their outbuildings, and to give them back a place in the courtyard. Two new small buildings are aligned perpendicular to the old ones. Their raw concrete panel facade cladding suggests the industrial past of the site while clearly distinguishing them from the old brick buildings. Their implementation induces a new, more fluid flow composed of a series of vegetated interior courtyards of distinct sizes that maintain the intertwined character of the site while clarifying the whole. The external spaces of the apartments will nestle inside the facades so as not to distort them. Thus, the main building is equipped with a second recessed glass facade. The arches are enlarged over their entire height, allowing as much light as possible to pass through and highlighting the initial rhythm of the facade.