At 215,000 square feet (20,000 square meters), The former Citroen garage offers a large blank canvas in the heart of the Brussels Capital Region. The architects’ proposal celebrates this icon by stripping it to its core elements in a move which increases transparency and invites the city inside. The old showroom acts as the main entrance, operating a dual function of exhibition hall and public space. Behind the showroom, a vast factory workshop once alive with the sound of industry is extended horizontally, gently divided by floors, ramps, and glass roofs.

Interior space. Image Courtesy of NOA / EM2N / SBA

Interior space. Image Courtesy of NOA / EM2N / SBA

Inside the existing space, three volumes will be inserted, containing a museum, architecture archive, and large auditorium. The volumes create spaces of different scales and atmospheres, meeting the precise climatic conditions required for their respective functions. Highly visible from the outside, thee volumes serve as beacons to entice the public into the building.

Auditorium. Image Courtesy of NOA / EM2N / SBA

Showroom. Image Courtesy of NOA / EM2N / SBA

Reflecting on this building, this location, the idea of a cultural hub calls for an overall attitude, an approach to dealing with all the questions at stake. Rather than a spectacular gesture, our proposal offers an attitude of Radical Optimism: critical, receptive, dedicated, precise. Out of the comfort zone. Thinking about Brussels, its future and complexity, requires a radical approach. Not in terms of architecture – here we just need an intelligent approach – but in terms of the infrastructure the Region offers its inhabitants. The spaces may be recognizable, but the atmosphere, the energy, the dynamics should be experienced rather than displayed. We want to radically engage with and trust what is there.
-noAarchitecten, EM2N, Sergison Bates

Exhibition hall. Image Courtesy of NOA / EM2N / SBA

Exhibition Hall. Image Courtesy of NOA / EM2N / SBA

The scheme is underlined by a goal of bringing production back into the city, with artistic output replacing industrial output. Schools, artists, and makers will be invited to work and exhibit in the center, reaching beyond the traditional idea of a museum as “archive.” Similarly, the scheme offers public amenities beyond a traditional museum brief, with auditoria, workshops, restaurants, and educational rooms, in what the architects describe as a “tribute to the public and a celebration of life in the city.”

News via: Sergison Bates

• Architects
  

  EM2N Architects, Sergison Bates, noAarchitecten

• Location
  

  Willebroekkaai, 1000 Brussel, Belgium

• Architect in Charge
  

  Stephen Bates, Francesco Apostoli, Fabian Hormann, Baptiste Blot,

• Design Team
  

  Jasper Caenepeel, Kirsten Gabriels, Estelle Jakubowski, Marije Rutten, Beatrice Bruneaux, Konrad Scheffer, Andrea Zandalasini, Jonas Rindlisbacher (model making), Jennifer Bottlang (model making), Serafina Eipert, Damiano Finetti, Sunayana Jain, Evelien Pletinckx, Elke Schoonen, Simon Stroo, Jonathan Teuns, Nathan Wouters

• Client
  

  Gouvernement de la Region de Bruxelles-Capitale

• Project Partners
  

  Le Centre International pour la Ville, l’Architecture et le Paysage (Fondation CIVA) / Le Centre Pompidou, Paris, France

• Civil Engineering
  

  Buro Happold Ltd

• Acoustics
  

  Kahle Acoustics

• Art
  

  Benoit van Innis

• Health and Safety
  

  BOPRO nv, Mechelen

• Lighting Consultant
  

  Joost de Beij, Zaltbommel

• Media
  

  iart ag, Basel

• Visualization
  

  Ponnie, Aachen; EM2N, Zurich

• Consultants
  

  Peter Cachola Schmal, Ian Cartlidge, Anne Pontegnie, Anna Viebrock

• Budget
  

  €125 million

• Area
  

  39000.0 m2

• Project Year
  

  2018

• Architects

  EM2N Architects, Sergison Bates, noAarchitecten

• Location

  Willebroekkaai, 1000 Brussel, Belgium

• Architect in Charge

  Stephen Bates, Francesco Apostoli, Fabian Hormann, Baptiste Blot,

• Design Team

  Jasper Caenepeel, Kirsten Gabriels, Estelle Jakubowski, Marije Rutten, Beatrice Bruneaux, Konrad Scheffer, Andrea Zandalasini, Jonas Rindlisbacher (model making), Jennifer Bottlang (model making), Serafina Eipert, Damiano Finetti, Sunayana Jain, Evelien Pletinckx, Elke Schoonen, Simon Stroo, Jonathan Teuns, Nathan Wouters

• Client

  Gouvernement de la Region de Bruxelles-Capitale

• Project Partners

  Le Centre International pour la Ville, l’Architecture et le Paysage (Fondation CIVA) / Le Centre Pompidou, Paris, France

• Civil Engineering

  Buro Happold Ltd

• Acoustics

  Kahle Acoustics

• Art

  Benoit van Innis

• Health and Safety

  BOPRO nv, Mechelen

• Lighting Consultant

  Joost de Beij, Zaltbommel

• Media

  iart ag, Basel

• Visualization

  Ponnie, Aachen; EM2N, Zurich

• Consultants

  Peter Cachola Schmal, Ian Cartlidge, Anne Pontegnie, Anna Viebrock

• Budget

  €125 million

• Area

  39000.0 m2

• Project Year

  2018