CITYFORWARD
Historic studies and valorisation to guide the recoversion of the patrimonium of the European Commission Team ︎︎︎ ALTSTADT icw Joke Nijs, Alison Inglisa
Phase ︎︎︎ Complete
Client ︎︎︎Whitewood
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Altstadt conducted historical building research and prepared a valuation assessment for a series of buildings in the European Quarter as part of the Cityforward project. The ‘European Quarter’ began to develop in the second half of the 20th century in the eastern and northeastern parts of Brussels' historic city center.
The core of this district encompasses two 19th-century urban expansions of Brussels: the Leopold Quarter and the Squares or Northeast Quarter. These neighborhoods were carefully designed and developed to create pleasant residential suburbs for the bourgeoisie, who sought to escape the bustling city center. With the arrival of the European institutions from 1958 onwards, the area underwent an unprecedented transformation driven by the tertiary sector, leading to the construction of a remarkable office district.
cityforward - Albert Borschette
cityforward - Belliard - Trèves
As the European Commission aims to reduce and redevelop its office space with a focus on more sustainable urban integration, 21 buildings were simultaneously transferred to the Belgian State, supported by Cityforward with Whitewood as the managing entity. These buildings will be reintroduced to the market for renovation, redevelopment, and reprogramming. This operation will counteract the monofunctionality of the European Quarter and restore it as a genuine urban district.
The studies consistently focused on three scales: the origins and evolution of the Leopold Quarter, the development within the building block, and finally, the construction history and building chronology of the specific structure itself. These investigations led us to reflect on the value of more recent postmodern and brutalist architecture in this district and how to approach this type of ‘young heritage.’
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The studies consistently focused on three scales: the origins and evolution of the Leopold Quarter, the development within the building block, and finally, the construction history and building chronology of the specific structure itself. These investigations led us to reflect on the value of more recent postmodern and brutalist architecture in this district and how to approach this type of ‘young heritage.’
cityforward - Ilot 130
cityforward - Palmerston
Josef II - Tweekerken