A TOWER FOR LIVING & WORKING
- A Needle in Brussels -
Research shows that generic office spaces for the masses will slowly disappear, even underlined by Covid-19
that shows the potential of working from home. As a consequence, Brussels decided to revive this district with mixed typologies combining work, housing and culture. We propose a tower in the North district of Brussels where every floor belongs to one unique owner who can decide whether they inhabit it as an office or as an apartment. A simple structure offering an almost anonymous floorplan that allows the change between the two programs of housing or working. A square of 20x20 meter has 4 diagonal walls generating 4 undifined spaces whilst the walls hide
all the service areas.The cross like core acts as the backbone and makes the structure very stiff, allowing
a maximal height of 420m, resulting in an extremely slender tower. A building defined by its structural limit. The expression of the facade is defined by reinforced concrete beams who’s slight curvature is a direct translation of the forces that are happening in the element. The higher up in the structure, the more they are expressed. At the same time they offer intimacy from within and protection from the sun. In the end, the tower is just a simple anonymous needle that is at the same time structure, as space, as ornament. An abstraction of a tower to be inhabited.
all the service areas.The cross like core acts as the backbone and makes the structure very stiff, allowing
a maximal height of 420m, resulting in an extremely slender tower. A building defined by its structural limit. The expression of the facade is defined by reinforced concrete beams who’s slight curvature is a direct translation of the forces that are happening in the element. The higher up in the structure, the more they are expressed. At the same time they offer intimacy from within and protection from the sun. In the end, the tower is just a simple anonymous needle that is at the same time structure, as space, as ornament. An abstraction of a tower to be inhabited.
