ELDERLY SOCIAL HOUSING

Location : Brussels, Belgium

Client : SLRB

Status : Competition first price, commission on going, 2023 - 2027

Photograph : Studio ACTE

Team : Atelier Kempe Thill + Architectes Assoc + Studio ACTE + Ney Partners + Studie10

Atelier Kempe Thill and Studio ACTE in collaboration with architectesassoc won the competition for a new large scale housing estate “Dames Blanches” at the Southern edge of the Brussels agglomeration in Sint-Pieters-Woluwe for the SLRB / BGHM public housing corporation of Brussels. The low-rise high-density project consists of in total approximately 25.000 m2 brute surface and more than 200 appartements spread over 8 different buildings including housing combined with a creche, several appartement blocks on a parking garage, elderly housing, several blocks of terraced houses and a small community center. The buildings are embedded into an new ecological-driven landscape by landscape architect Bas Smets.

This social housing building is designed around 15 apartments, with a large communal space on the ground floor that opens onto the landscape. Shared living rooms encourage meetings and collective gatherings. An outdoor gallery system along the facade fosters interaction between inhabitants and offers expansive outdoor spaces. The ground-floor apartments open onto both a balcony and small gardens, while the first-floor apartments open onto front and back terraces. All apartments are dual-aspect, facing east and west. The rhythm of the reused wooden structure reduces the perception of height and creates a dialogue between the planted trees and the terraces.