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GROUP S

LOCATION / Brussels, Belgium

CLIENT / Group S


AREA / 10 200 sqm above ground


PROGRAM / Office and crèche


PROJECT / 2007 - 2008

STATUS / Built 2014

The project involves the reorganisation of the triangular islet in order to construct an office building along rue des Ursulines, with housing and a nursery at the rear. The islet was mostly occupied by the offices of Groupe S, a petrol station and a garage on two corners. The planned redevelopment releases the islet on the rue Terre-Neuve and rue de la Roue side, in order to build a three-storey building with a shop on the ground floor, a nursery on the first floor open to local residents, homes on the second floor and a roof terrace with plants. Laid out, as a garden terrace above the homes, it will give a pleasant view to the surrounding buildings. All these functions are accessible to local residents and separated from the office building by two gardens opening onto the streets. The new offices of Groupe S are located south along rue des Ursulines, and provide a sound buffer between the railway lines and the residential areas of the district behind the building. The position of these offices is deliberate, in order to restore the sunlight to neighbouring residential buildings. The south façade features a curtain wall protected from the sun by metal slats, set in a frame of light-coloured stone, designed, among other things, to reduce energy consumption for cooling. The linear expression of the main façade and the wagon-shape floor plan refer to the high-speed trains passing by on the north / south railway junction, and give a very specific and contextual look to the building. The choice is more classical for the rear façades of light-coloured stone, composed of filled and empty spaces, which mimics the softness of the curtain walls with rounded corners on the street frontage.

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