Cepezed architects – Brussels Environment HQ, 2014

#HEADQUARTERS #ENVIRONMENT #SUSTAINABILITY

Cepezed architects – www.cepezed.nl

Brussels Environment is the government authority in the field of environment and habitat in the Belgian Capital Region. The new headquarter by Cepezed architects represents the biggest passive building in Europe and an interesting reference project concerning sustainable architecture.

In fact the compact volume shape, not only defines an iconic building, but also guarantees a lower fa ade surface. This characteritistic, combined with the use of heat-resistant glass, reduces the warmth loss, while external sun shades and individual ventilation facilities prevent excessive rises in temperature during the summer.
The interior is characterized by a central atrium with stepped receding floor slabs under a rounded transparent roof. The atrium represents a continuation of the adjacent square, which includes the historical buildings of the Royal Depot and the Sheds, actually renewed. It also makes a significant contribution to the transparency of the volume and an important role to reach passive building standards through the heat recovery.

The two lowest storeys contain: a visitors centre with ecological themes, an auditorium, a multimedia library, a conference centre and a restaurant. The offices are situated above the public areas from the third floor upwards and are flexible in their internal arrangement in order to be suitable for many different types of workspace.
On the third floor, there is the laboratory for trials and tests related to the Brussels Environment’s work field. The staircase system dovetails with open galleries and encourages people to take the stairs, allowing them a full experience of the interior space.

CREDITS

architects: Cepezed, Delft (NL) | local party: Philippe Samyn and Partners architecs & engineers
location: Brussels (BE)
surface: 19.690 mA?
year/status: 2014/built
structure: Ingenieursbureau Smitwesterman| local party: Ingenieursbureau Meijer
materials: glass, steel, concrete
project team: Cepezed project team
client/contractor: Project T&T NV / Van Laere NV
consultant: Flow Transfer International (installation techniques), DGMR adviseurs voor bouw, industrie, verkeer, milieu en software (construction physics and acoustics)
photography: Cepezed | L on van Woerkom, Yvan Glavie