Palimpseste is a research work around the development of a garden city in the 21st century. The project is set up in Belgium, in the East of Brussels, in the continuation of an already existing garden city, thought by Louis Van der Swaelmen in 1922. In this sense, the Palimpseste proposes a rewriting of this urbanistic model of social housing.

Palimpseste should thus be seen as a plea for unusual and innovative interventions in social housing.

1 – Information Architecture 

The project is built on the basis of a 2000m2 grid inserted in the existing nature and preserves pieces of it for the extrusion on all its height. The accommodations are created and connected by inner pockets of vegetation and light. A reinforced concrete structure develops large sails that extend beyond the building to provide views of the green promenade. The project evolves in symbiosis with its context. The composition exercise is inspired by the work of Aldo Van Eyck in 1966. Indeed, like the Sonsbeek Pavilion, the walls fold into semicircular spaces and the sudden cuts turn this simple pattern into a complex space device.

2 – Program Interface 

The housing deploys six typologies of housing, from the studio to the family apartments. All floors provide large communal spaces, accessible by individual homes via sliding wooden doors. The rooms can thus expand and contract with the wishes of the inhabitants.