Skip to content
2026

Site Haute: social housing tower as a laboratory for sustainable renewal

Site Haute: social housing tower as a laboratory for sustainable renewal

Sébastien Jamar

Site Haute is a complex of more than 200 social housing units in the heart of the Marolles district in Brussels. Archipelago carried out a feasibility study there in collaboration with OFFICEU, Tractebel and OSMOS.

The team adopted a holistic approach, combining quantitative aspects – such as dialogue with local residents and the application of scenario-based design principles – with qualitative parameters, including the assessment of technical and financial feasibility and the performance of environmental simulations.

By examining all these dimensions, the team was able to develop an integrated solution within this complex social context.

site haute

© Archipelago

Related projects & research

  • Residential

Climate study on heat stress in Belgian homes

  • Mixed-use

Practical Guide to Building for Change

Transformation Capacity Tool

Index
Adaptation and further development of the Transformation Capacity Tool to the Brussels construction context, commissioned by Brussels Environment. Later also further developed for GRO 2025.

ReCoVer++

Index
ICON VLAIO project using dynamic simulations of buildings under extreme shocks, especially heatwaves. Archipelago investigates the effect of passive design solutions.
  • Public

Wijgmaal Railway Station: a 19th-century station becomes a circular icon

  • Hospital

Caring Nature makes healthcare buildings truly future-proof

  • Hospital

A circular and modular entrance building for AZ Sint-Elisabeth

Enough is more - sufficiency as a design strategy

Index
Sufficiency puts users, daylight and natural ventilation at the centre to optimise energy use, CO₂ and dynamic comfort in healthcare buildings.

Building resilience in healthcare: how hospital room design impacts energy use and occupant well-being

Index
Combinations of window size, glazing and solar shading determine energy use and comfort in patient rooms and thus act as a lever for more sustainable healthcare buildings.
  • Hospital

Exploring a Space Kit Approach to guard psychosocial well-being in planning public hospital spaces

How to design a resilient building? Lessons learnt from an architectural view

Index
The Archipelago office in Leuven shows how mass, glazing, solar shading and natural ventilation make buildings more resilient to future heatwaves.
  • Hospital

An urban hospital based on the principles of circular economy: the case of Joseph Bracops hospital.