Mixed facilities Zinneke

Programme

Workshops, material storage and offices.

The Zinneke project is exemplary of contemporary Belgian architecture that prioritizes collaboration over the dominance of the architect. It guides a dual transition, both social and environmental, through co-creation and the use of re-purposed materials, within the constraints of a public tender. The project entails the sensitive renovation of a former print shop complex in the north of Brussels, made available by the regional government to a local non-profit organization, Zinneke. The innovative approach to the project involved occupying the building during the design stage, allowing for real-time design experiments and collaborative decision making. The result is a remarkable feat of sensitivity, frugality, and joyous collaboration that resulted in unexpected solutions to issues of space, structure, and detail. The architects credit the client for their contributions, but the true strength of the project lies in the architects’ ingenuity, expressed through subtle details such as the placement of recycled windows in a façade composition reminiscent of De Stijl, or the discreet but impactful yellow line above the cornice. The project has had a positive impact on the surround- ing community, revitalizing a district that had previously been overlooked, and serves as a model for urban renewal.

Oana Bogdan