Archinect - News

Noise-disrupting fountains? Belgian cities are leading the world in anti-noise pollution urban strategy

2023-11-10T13:26:00-05:00

Noise pollution often underestimated but significantly impacting our lives, has become a pressing concern in major cities worldwide. From the bustling streets of Brussels to the vibrant ambience of Paris, urban dwellers are increasingly raising their voices against incessant noise.

Exposure to noise pollution above an annual average of 53 decibels has been shown to shorten lifespans for city dwellers. Brussels, where 70% of residents are at-risk, has begun experimenting with pleasing “soundscapes” among other, more practical interventions that include lower speed limits, added greenways, and pedestrianization strategies. Antwerp is also planning to test out a new “noise-disrupting fountains” concept this spring. Ghent, finally, is attempting to limit maximum facade noise to 65 decibels using a combination of traffic reduction and improvements to road surfaces.

MVRDV designs residential master plan as new neighborhood for Brussels

2023-10-24T15:34:00-04:00

MVRDV has released details of their master plan for Tour & Taxis Lake Side in Brussels, Belgium. The master plan consists of 17 buildings designed by seven different architects including MVRDV, adding 800 residential units to the area.

Image credit: RZGraphics

The master plan is split into three sections. A mixed office and housing campus to the east contains large-scale buildings, including cross-laminated timber and lightweight hybrid structures. The middle section, meanwhile, sees 14 individual buildings clustered around a public garden. The ground floors of the buildings contain public amenities and shops, while all 14 buildings hold either green or energy-producing roofs. The third section of the master plan blends the dense neighborhood into the adjacent Tour & Taxis Park, with a more open space punctuated by a tower known as the Park Building.

Image credit: RZGraphics

The plan contains a range of housing types, including two buildings providing co-living apartments. The master ...

Hyperloop companies form international consortium

2023-02-14T19:11:00-05:00

A consortium of seven international hyperloop companies has formed a new entity called the Hyperloop Association, the group recently announced. The organization was begun in December and expects a royal decree to follow shortly announcing it as a legal entity.

The Association says it will be based in Brussels in order to work with European Union commissioners and the EU's Agency for Railways to "advance the progress and facilitate the widespread implementation of the innovative transportation system across Europe and globally."

The news comes after years of collaborations between various participating hyperloop companies and architecture firms on infrastructure and transportation design.

BIG, for example, designed the XP-2 pods as well as passenger portals for Hyperloop One. Zaha Hadid Architects worked with Hyperloop Italia to develop station designs and strategies for urban and rural impleme...

Lucien Kroll, paragon of progressive architecture, passes away aged 95

2022-08-15T17:43:00-04:00

An influential figure in the realm of ecological design is being mourned after Le Monde reported the death of Belgian architect Lucien Kroll in Brussels on August 2nd at the age of 95.

The Atelier Kroll co-founder will be remembered for his foundational work in the arenas of green building and participatory architecture. Kroll is best known for his highly-collaborative 1976 La Mémé design on the campus of Belgium’s Catholic University of Louvain in addition to over 100 other projects he and his wife Simone Pelosse completed through the studio after its inception in 1958.

A 1966 residential project in Embourg, Belgium. Image: GAR-Archives d'architecture

A 1951 graduate of La Cambre (where he preceded Maurice Culot by a decade), Kroll’s early commitment to designing spaces “with” rather than “for” their users continued throughout his long career, eventually leading to them being named the Brussels Architecture Prize Lifetime Achievement Award winners just last year. His early-career d...

OFFICE KGDVS designs new headquarters for Belgian broadcaster VRT

2021-06-24T15:06:00-04:00

Belgian architecture studio OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen (KGDVS), in collaboration with Jaspers-Eyers Architects, has won a competition to design a new headquarters for Flemish Radio and Television (VRT) in the future Media Park in Brussels. The project is the result of a year-long competition, developed by a collective of firms dubbed VRT Morgen, which also includes: Bureau Bas Smets, Tractebel, CES, Ideal Acoustics, Willemen Construct, Jan De Nul Group, and EEG.

The competition, launched in February 2020, was part of the transformation of the Reyers district and the realization of mediapark.brussels. Seven construction teams submitted proposals. The VRT Morgen team was awarded the contract with a maximum construction cost of approximately $159 million.

The new VRT headquarters will span 65,000 square meters, with 40,000 square meters of that above ground. It is set to open in the summer of 2026. The new media house focuses on flexibility and cooperation, with spaces fo...

Flemish government's new home and largest passive office building in Brussels completes

2017-09-27T12:35:00-04:00

The city of Brussels has experienced an energy revolution in the last ten years, transforming the Belgian capital into a model for the passive house movement. As a result of the regional government’s 2009 decision to fully embrace passive constructions, the city has become one the most 'passive' cities in Europe and a leader in building energy performance.

In keeping with their environmental standards, the Flemish Government has just moved into their new home and Belgium's largest passive office building. Designed by the Dutch-firm Neutelings Riedijk Architects, the 66,500 square meter building will house the Flemish government's 2,600 employees. Equipped with 2,000 m² of solar panels capable of producing enough energy for 100 families, the building is the most energy efficient of any building used by Flemish Civil servants and will save the Flemish Government 8.8 million euro/annum in rent.

Located on the Tour & Taxis site, the new office—clad in ove...

DeFlatKleiburg wins 2017 Mies van der Rohe Award, MSA/V+ named 2017 Emerging Architect recipient

2017-05-12T14:46:00-04:00

Two housing projects won big today in the 2017 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award competition. Out of five finalists, DeFlatKleiburg in Amsterdam by NL Architects and XVW architectuur won the main Mies van der Rohe Award. The 2017 Emerging Architect prize went to Brussels-based practice MSA/V+ for the NAVEZ social housing project.

DeFlatKleiburg is the first renovation project of an existing building to receive the main prize. The colossal megablock is 11 stories tall and 400 meters long, and comprises 500 customizable apartments. First built in the 1960s as part of city planner Siegfried Nassuth's masterplan, the Kleiburg eventually became dilapidated and was at risk for demolition. Protests in recent years prompted a competition seeking the most economically feasible solution to save the structure.

Photo © Marcel van der Burg.

Dutch firms NL Architects and XVW architectuur won the competition with their proposal to renovate the existing buil...

How pictures of the Eiffel Tower at night violate copyright

2014-11-11T15:06:00-05:00

Indeed, taking a photo of the Eiffel Tower at night for any reason other than personal use is, technically, a violation of French copyright law [...]. A daytime photo is fine—copyright on the structure itself has expired—but night time photos remain problematic because the light show is more recent than the tower itself. Also illegal is taking a photo of the Atomium, Belgium’s most famous tourist attraction [...].

Construction of New NATO Headquarters in Brussel Overbudget

2014-01-20T14:35:00-05:00

NATO is building a new headquarters for one billion euros. But the construction consortium is in financial difficulties and the project is at risk of being halted.

Watch a 2008 video interview below with lead architect Jo Palma of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill discussing the ideas behind the design of the building.

More European key projects in dire financial troubles:

The Top Three Winners of the International Gastronomic Center Brussels Competition 2013

2013-07-30T15:35:00-04:00

Three winners were selected for the 2013 International Gastronomic Center Brussels competition hosted by Arquideas. A total of 106 teams of architecture students around the globe submitted projects to create a gathering space for professional chefs and visitors to share ideas, experience, research, and to celebrate the appreciation of food.

Base jumping inside the Koekelberg Basilica!

2012-04-12T12:28:00-04:00

To continue with Javier's recent place hacking post of this dude climbing the Shard, I bring you this insane video of base jumpers "hacking" the Koekelberg Basilica in Brussels.

‘Against Symmetry’ - Brussels Courthouse Redesign by Europe Studio Architects

2011-05-20T19:16:26-04:00

The interplay between the new system and the courthouse spaces emphasizes the spaces volume and captures the spontaneity of a new architectural presence. The courtyards will be covered and will programmatically serve as contemporary exhibition spaces.