Brussels Port will get a new hub for circular construction, where designers, contractors and craftspeople will work together on more sustainable building methods, with the project unveiled on Wednesday at a site on Avenue du Port in Brussels.
Stadsatelierdeville is being developed in the Brussels port area near Tour & Taxis, on a former coal storage site. Although the building is still under construction, it is intended to bring together construction experts, academics and students.
The hub will focus on reusing, processing and testing building materials. Architects, designers, contractors and skilled tradespeople will collaborate there to develop and apply more sustainable ways of building.
One example is soil excavated from construction works in Brussels, which will be processed into bricks, plaster and flooring systems. Other recovered materials will also be given a second life.
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The site will combine workshops, production halls, storage space and distribution facilities. The aim is to make it easier for reusable materials to be channelled into new construction projects.
The project’s backers want Brussels to play a leading role in circular construction. By 2029, Stadsatelierdeville aims to process at least 10,000 tonnes of waste each year in preparation for reuse and create between 35 and 50 full-time equivalent jobs on the site.
The site is also targeting carbon neutrality for its infrastructure and operations by June 2027.
Stadsatelierdeville is focused on recycled materials, but the building itself is also designed as a demonstration project. Its designers want to show that a building can be delivered using locally available and reused materials.
Concrete floor slabs from The Dome on Boulevard Anspach have been reused for the foundations, avoiding the need to pour new concrete. The main load-bearing structure will be made from steel sections and timber beams from the Pacheco building, supplemented by window elements recovered from dismantled European Union buildings.
The future circular construction hub will cover about 9,300 square metres. It is being developed on the initiative of contractor Democo and BC architects & studies & materials.
The €9.75 million project is supported by the Brussels authorities and the European Union through the ERDF fund. Stadsatelierdeville is due to open in 2028.
