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cltb anvers

a competition entry for collective housing and gardens and a park warden station (in collaboration with v+ and ifau).
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1 – site plan. the site has an entrance from the street and another secondary entrance facing the park in the rear. the connection between these two entrances establishes the character of the site.

2 – second floor plan. all the apartments have two or three facades to capture the sun at various times of the day.

3 – longitudinal section. the different building volumes are scaled to the contrasting conditions of the site.

4 – axonometric drawing of the site. the various exterior spaces, sheltered, open, intimate, wooded, shaded or sunny offer a multitude of opportunities for exchange without imposing a singular vision of community.

5 – view from the courtyard. the landscaping encourages a certain usurpation of the site by vegetation.

6 – view under the trees into the courtyard. the central courtyard is planted with large high-stemmed trees leaving the ground free for common activities while providing privacy for the apartments.

7 – view along the access balcony. the intermediate zones allow for various forms of appropriation and permanent negotiation between the private and the common.

8 – view over the rooftop kitchen garden. the garden is an object of learning, culture, exchange and, in this sense, an important tool for thinking, activating and forming of community.

09 – view from the chaussée d'anvers. on the street, the project is characterized by the verticality of the two volumes of dwellings highlighted by vertical and repetitive bays.

10 – view into the courtyard. the passageways around the square courtyard define the identity of the project.

cltb anvers is a competition for 14 apartments for the community land trust brussels and includes a station for park wardens separately managed by leefmilieu brussel. located in the north quarter of brussels, a dense urban area, the site connects through from a busy street in front to a public park in the back.

the program is distributed into four simple volumes whose height and depth are adapted to the conditions of the site. in the wider front zone three volumes accommodate the 14 apartments and various common spaces. in the narrow zone at the rear, the station for the park wardens completes the site in the form of a pavilion addressing both the private common spaces and the adjacent public park. the organization into separate volumes generates a multiplicity of housing types. each apartment benefits from diverse relations with the context and a sense of community is promoted by providing connections with the adjacent spaces, passageways, courtyards and common gardens.

the structural system of the volumes is defined by load-bearing facades leaving the plans of the apartments open to different configurations that can be adapted by the future inhabitants. the simple construction methods of the architecture, materials and techniques, allow users to intervene, repair and improve their environment themselves.

the different program elements are connected through an outdoor access system, consisting of wide passageways, winter gardens and terraces, which allows multiple interactions between neighbors without affecting the privacy of the dwellings.

between and around the built volumes is a network of diverse outdoor spaces: a narrow forest, a kitchen garden, a grassy plain, a tree-lined courtyard, vertical gardens, winter gardens, loggias. the multitude of exterior spaces, centered on gardening and recreation, encourages outdoor living and collective activities complementary to housing. the gardens, like the architecture is conceived and designed as a place to be appropriated and maintained in private and in common.

last updated November 5, 2024