The recent opening of the Marie-Elisabeth Belpaire building is the perfect starting point for a talk on architectural agency with architect Freek Persyn, co-founder of 51N4E. The design of the Belpaire building in the Brussels Northern Quarter goes a long history, it was announced under the project name ZIN and was a collaboration with Jaspers Eyers Architects. The search by the Flemish government for new administrative office floor space opened a window of opportunity to renovate the WTC towers 1 and 2 thoroughly. The new mixed working and living program was part of the ambition to finally diversify and dynamize the central business district in the Northern Quarter. The design process was inspired by the temporary use of the WTC towers, in which included 51N4E together with other architect offices, artists, our faculty and the IABR architecture biennial. The recently opened Belpaire buildings and its long history invites us to discuss the future challenges of adaptive reuse, civic design, performative architecture and more.
Date: Thursday 26 September 2024, 4pm
Venue: TRACK, located in the former railway museum Brussels North Station, Vooruitgangstraat 76 Rue du Progrès, 1030 Schaarbeek-Brussels
The program is part of the Architecture & Activism seminar organized by Gideon Boie and Lieven De Cauter.
@51n4e
@track.brussels
@arch_kuleuven
@civabrussels
@architectureactivism_kul
Poster by Melika Baghban Anbarani