VDB Housing

Programme

Public housing, square and cycle parking open to the neighbourhood.

This head-of-block residential building on the corner of Rue Vandenbroeck and Rue Limauge, the subject of a neighbourhood contract, is characteristic of the new sensibilities shaping the urban fabric of Brussels. Respectful of the scale of the houses on this street, but also willing to reinvent their language, the building clearly affirms the current change of direction in terms of shared space and soft mobility. The first aspect that characterizes the building is the use of neoclassical elements: bands, vertical windows, and projecting cornices give rhythm to the façade and compose its sober and measured identity. These elements are combined with more contemporary attributes such as the entrance canopy and the overall volume of the building with an angle in the façade, which hints at the architects’ intention of creating a building that speaks to its context. This desire for integration becomes even more significant given that the building does not use the whole potential ground area. By taking advantage of the removal of two parking spaces, the building consciously gives up part of its footprint in order to maintain a pre-existing urban open space at the junction of the two streets. A few benches, a beautiful tree which was already there, and a few square meters of land to be planted restore the living environment that had been established on the vacant plot. In addition to this public micro-square, cycle parking on the ground floor is available to all local residents who would like to use it. Clear and generous, this corner building seems to upgrade the junction of the two streets, without losing what existed before. Unostentatious but determined, it directs the gaze, sets the pace and welcomes in this new, calmer urban existence that involves a few more pedestrians and cyclists and a few less cars.

Christophe Catsaros