Art & Build won the Business Park Development competition on the Molenbeek Valley site near Brussels. A holistic approach, supported by sensitive sustainable development themes, won over the jury.
The Centre de Congrès in Mons is conceived by Art & Build as an iconic but unpretentious architectural symbol, calling upon a noble, simple and timeless architectural language. The role of the building as a mixed facility is expressed through the creation of a large forecourt which links inner and outer public spaces. The Forum, generously left open to the outside through large glazed panels, is the living heart of the Congress Centre.
The project is designed to revitalise an old district in the centre of Bordeaux creating 20 000 m2 of office space and 10 000 m2 of retail space on an irregular site. The buildings, with a street frontage, draw on the area’s identity, with its high density and network of narrow streets and squares, at the same time respecting and enhancing the existing, historical values of the site. There is also a larger building standing back from the street in the plots interior, and this accommodates shops and services as well as a covered and illuminated public space.
The choice of location for the Bordet Hospital, which specialises in cancer treatment, close to the Erasmus Hospital in Anderlecht stems from the desire to bring together a number of common services as a means of saving costs. However, the client also wanted this renowned institution to retain a distinct image that reflected its efficiency and technical excellence.
This University Hospital is to become part of the Toulouse Cancéropole, a centre of excellence that brings together the medical, research and industrial skills necessary in combating cancer. For the architects, participation in this competition was an opportunity to study the rigorous separation of visitor, patient and staff flows required within a major and self-functioning complex. There was a need to create a medical organization that took into account the total isolation required by certain treatments that involve depressing the immune system.
Intended to supplement an existing railway viaduct, the structure was designed as a mix of concrete and metal that is organic in its nature. The piers that support the deck take their inspiration from the shape of a tree and are positioned in very sharp contrast to those of the arched viaduct (built in the early years of the 20th century) to which the new structure is to be attached. Each of the piers culminates in four branches that support the deck bearing two lines of track and a walkway for pedestrians. This form provided an elegant solution to the question of expansion joints.
The perception of the European Quarter of Brussels is one of buildings that have been erected as and when the need arises. Together with a lack of architectural identity and planning, traditional parcels have been ravaged to satisfy emerging demands.
This development project for a housing complex in Brussels is located on a triangular-shaped site. The configuration of the environment suggests treating the complex as a traditional closed plot that is protected from the street, that takes the model of the individual house as its reference point. The gardens located at the heart of the plot would form a park shared by the residents.
This project to erect office buildings and apartments in the municipality of Biot, near Nice is part of the larger “Sophia Antipolis” development aimed at creating a high-technology and industrial centre in southern France. The project’s creators adopted a very bold approach to the competition, seeking to develop the principles of a hyper-ecological architecture with the least possible impact on the site and incorporating water recovery and natural air conditioning. The design of the concrete and wood buildings take their inspiration from the trees.
