Context
City scale
Brussels :
– Located in Belgium
– European capital
– Composed of 19 municipalities
– French, Dutch, and many other languages are spoken
Municipality scale
Saint-Josse-ten-Noode (SJTN) :
– Smallest and densest municipality in Brussels
– Multi-Cultural, 153 nationalities, and more than 60 languages spoken
– Acquired a bad reputation due through years probably as a result to its poverty
– Interest from the city of Brussels to improve it
Building scale
Building :
– Erected in 1958
– Concrete column/beam structure
– Belonged to the railway company
– Former centre of education
– Left empty in 2018
– Next to the railway & to a major train station
– Energetic performance : 499kWh/m²y
Building area
The first picture shows the Western facade from the train station, as can be seen, the railway is raised up to the second floor, preventing daylight to enter the building on the ground and the first floor.
The numbers 2 & 5 show the street on the Eastside, it is covered by waste and the building tries to keep its distance from the street with the bars on the windows.
In picture number 3, the construction system is shown as well as some degradation in the wall.
Picture number 4 depicts a staircase with a pleasant design and well lit especially on the last floor.