How to transform an abandoned office building into a public facility?

Instead of constructing new infrastructure, the municipality of Uccle purchased the Fabricom building in 2014: a disused 1970s building. The complex, a reflection of its era, possessed intrinsic architectural qualities and was set in a valuable green environment. The challenge of this project? Transforming a private office building, into a public facility for municipal services, while respecting the architectural quality.

First we reconfigured the private setting as a public park. The historic entrance to the building on Rue Gatti de Gamond had a distant and abandoned character. Therefore, we proposed creating a new entrance within the park, on the side of Rue de Stalle. The pedestrian areas, directly connected to the park and bathed in natural light, serve as informal meeting spaces.

To encourage interaction between municipal staff and residents, we created a “space for citizens” at the side of the park entrance. It provides access to all the services of the town hall.

The citizens’ space channels all visitor flows and controls access to the town hall. Circulation routes for staff and the public are clearly separated, except at the ground-floor level. Because the building also had to remain accessible outside opening hours, part of it can be used independently: the citizens’ area, the reception and recreation space, and the large meeting rooms on the roof all operate separately from the day-to-day functioning of the town hall.

From the very beginning we made conceptual choices applying the principles of the circular economy. In doing so, we considered not only the social dimension and heritage value, but also energy savings and environmental performance. Reusing selected building elements, identified through a careful study, significantly reduced environmental costs while preserving the load-bearing architectural concrete façade.

The project also included several innovative technical solutions. One example is a pilot project in collaboration with Vivaqua, which extracts energy from wastewater in the sewer system to to heat and cool the building using riothermal energy. We moreover designed a flexible and fully modular office layout to respond to the needs of an ever-evolving administration, with a few permanent functions, such as the cafeteria, to help anchor the project in the long term.Top of Form

Heritage is still too often demolishedor altered without care. Project U sends a powerful signal as soon as you enter the municipality and brings a refreshing diversity to the neighbourhood. The project was recognised by the jury of the be.exemplary award in 2017 as a remarkable example of sustainable urban regeneration. It stands as proof that a mono-functional 1960s/1970s building in Brussels can be successfully refurbished in a cost-effective, high-quality and efficient way.