Grow 4 Brussels

TEAM PORTRAIT

VIDEO (by the team)

INTERVIEW
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1. How did you form the team for the competition?
De Strip Architects (Filip & Mohammad) are active in Belgium for a couple of years, they are quite present on social media where they regularly share and communicate their reflections on the urban environment of Brussels. After following. ism-s (Georgius) work on social media for a while, we realised that we share quite a wide spectrum of diverse ideas and few common values in regard with the metabolism of cities. EUROPAN 16 was the perfect opportunity to get in contact and form a team.

2. How do you define the main issue of your project, and how did you answer on this session main topic, Living cities?
The further densification of the cities and the ever-evolving technologies, have already and, will exponentially increase the need for sustained adaptation of the existing building stock and the way urban populations live. We are of mind that if the perpetual adaptation process was to continue following the pretty much obsolete, modernistic, dogma of “Form Follows Function” Europe will never manage to achieve its goals for carbon neutrality by 2050. Thus, we decided to work in two scales while staying true to the values of circular construction and following a “Function Follows Form” approach. Both scales, although maintaining the inherent qualities of the site, are ensuring openness and integration to the neighbourhood and the local economy. Any renovation, new construction and public space has been designed with respect to the exceptional architectural heritage of the site. Ultimately by letting the core principals of the circular economy serve as guide through the entire process has resulted in the creation of a flexible and strategic system which sets its invariables while allowing freedom to adapt and develop leading to a project than can change assignment in a short time in order to adapt in any new challenge that might arise.