STW0028 - MAROLLEN - Seven Building Blocks
design: landscaping of 7 public inner areas of building blocks
type: landscape and urbanism
client: city of Brussels
design team urbanism and open space: act. (Studio Thomas Willemse + Emilie Bechet + Sarah Poot) + Baumans Deffet
participation: WAUW
stability: JZH
expert sustainability, mobility, ecology, water management: Aries
time: competition 2021
In the densely built medieval blocks of the Marolles in the heart of Brussels, buildings have been removed from the inner areas over the years to give breathing space to the homes and the neighbourhood. These became places for sports and play. Now the time has come to also break up the paving and reintroduce vegetation in and around these seven building blocks. It will be an archipelago of green-blue oases on the slope of the neighbourhood.
The seven outdoor spaces have different characters according to two main groups: the forecourts that form part of the streets - the "scenes" - and the gardens hidden in the heart of the blocks - the "backstage". In the Marolles, the "play" takes place behind the scenes and it is the local actors who animate the different "scenes". A series of outdoor rooms follow one another in a series of sets, welcoming the people of the Marolles in different atmospheres, for relaxation, play, dialogue and for dreaming.
Through a uniform catalogue of interventions, the use of the places can be increased, their status clarified and their navigability improved. Through the uniformity of the catalogue, which is linked to the existing furniture and greenery of the public spaces, the identity and individuality of the Marolles as a neighbourhood is reinforced in seven different places.