Village in a Tower

FONTEINEN

‘4 fonteinen’ is a development area located in the south of Vilvoorde bordering Brussels. This large-scale project of 13 ha is defined by its adjacent canal, the Zenne, the nature reserve 3 Fonteinen and the viaduct. The area was known for its industrial areas for many years, but is now undergoing a major transformation due to this project and 3 other adjacent projects.

As a developer, Matexi’s ambition is to design a fully-fledged urban district, with sustainable projects that offer a healthy mix of working and living and are integrated with their surroundings, to use and activate them to their full potential.

TEAM SPACE

We were commissioned to design a tower in the south of this development area, focusing on the theme of ‘Space’. In reflecting on the word space, we saw that we needed to look beyond the qualities of the invidual spaces and see the bigger picture.

It is up to us to develop a flexible grid, such that the tower is durable enough to undergo function changes without too great a cost. We have to ensure that there is a mixture of different functions, but also that they coincide well and remain accessible to everyone. Our goal is to bring all these qualities together harmoniously in a design and develop a tower that will be an iconic place in the rapidly transforming Vilvoorde