GEMBLOUX MANUFACTURE
LOCATION / Brussels, Belgium
CLIENT / Grande Prairie
AREA / 12 000 sqm above ground
PROGRAM / Housing, offices and, retail
PROJECT / 1997 - 2008
STATUS / Built 2012
This is a mixed-use project offering office space, a series of apartment buildings (some of them with shops), small businesses and freelance professions, and a group of semi-detached houses (duplexes, studios and single-family homes). The main buildings are arranged around a simple but large and friendly public square, offering human size proportions and tranquillity, sheltered from the traffic. It is laid out so that passers-by can pause for a rest, and benches are placed besides large tubs of various coloured plants, flowers, and bushes. Three opposite and diagonal entries give access to this public space, connecting it with the neighbourhood, thereby encouraging a new social life in the area. The pedestrian areas have been intensively studied, and the layout of the surroundings offers a high-quality space interspersed with trees from the region, cycle parking, and private and public green space. A large car park is located underneath the square. The presence of green roofs throughout the site guarantees that the project retains not only its aesthetic but an environmental quality as well.