BOTANIQUE

Competition for the expansion of the Orangerie and Rotunda halls of the Botanique Arts Centre

Year ︎︎︎ 2020
Status ︎︎︎ Competition
Budget ︎︎︎ 1,200,000 €
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The art centre "Le Botanique" is situated in the former orangery of the botanical garden, right on the small ring road of Brussels. Hundreds of concerts, performances and exhibitions take place in this fantastic location every year, in a complex that has been rebuilt in various stages over the years. The starting point of this competition was to expand the main concert halls, the 'Orangerie' (from 750 to 1000 places) and the Rotonde (from 200 to 300 places). A feasibility study had shown earlier that this was a possibility, but also raised many questions.

The competition proposal was therefore worked out as a diptych: on the one hand, a detailed proposal was worked out for both halls, using the feasibility study as a basis, proposing an optimisation and expansion of the existing halls, within the proposed budget. A second part consisted of a series of more radical proposals for Le Botanique, going beyond the walls of the halls and allowing for more far-reaching transformations of the complex.