New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023

Project category

Identify the award category for which this project is being submitted
Regaining a sense of belonging

Email user
deloffre@dev-space.eu

Basic information
Project title
Guy Cudell square

Full Project Title
Creation of a new square in Brussels

Please provide a short, catchy description of your project to be used in communication towards the public.
The redefinition of the role of trafic at this former crossroad in Brussels enabled to transform a residual road space into a fully- fledged pedestrian urban square: the Guy Cudell square.

Project by DEV-space (complete mission), L'atelier (design process), BLOC paysage (Landscape)

What was the geographical scope of your project?
Local

Where was your project implemented?
Member State(s) and Western Balkans
Belgium

If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
Municipality of Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode

Does your project address mainly urban or rural issues?
Mainly urban

Does your project refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations (hard or soft investments)?
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)

Has your project benefited from EU programmes and/or funds?
No

Has your project won an EU prize with a monetary value awarded?
No

Is your project fully completed
Yes

Please indicate a date (mm/yy)
2020-12-18

On whose behalf are you submitting the application?
As a representative of an organisation
Please provide the contact details for the project promoter (the individual or representative of the organisation authorised to represent the project)
- Name of the organisation(s): DEV-space architectes SPRL
  Type of organisation: For-profit company
  First name of representative: Julien
  Last name of representative: Deloffre
  Gender: Male
  Nationality: France
  Function: Architect
  Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Rue du chimiste 34/8
  Town: Anderlecht
  Postal code: 1070
  Country: Belgium
  Direct Tel: +32 488 46 53 79
  E-mail: deloffre@dev-space.eu
  Website: https://dev-space.eu/
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
- URL: https://www.instagram.com/devspacearch/
In case my project is selected as a finalist of the NEB Prizes 2023, I agree to share the name (individual and/or organisation’s), email address, website and social media accounts indicated above with other NEB Prizes finalists. I also agree to publish the name (individual and/or organisation’s), website and social media accounts indicated above next to the public description of my project in the channels of the European Commission.
Yes

How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes?
Social Media

Description of the project
Please provide a summary of your project.
This urban project challenges the hierarchy between the space dedicated to the car and the pedestrian space to create a new square. The textures of the pavements is homogenized throughout the square in order to create a feeling of visual continuity, of a large carpet from facade to facade. The roads are raised to the level of the sidewalks and terraces are enlarged, reducing the proportion of space dedicated to car use. Motorists drive on the "pedestrian ground" by adjusting their driving and speed accordingly. The square acts as the focal point for leisure activities, welcoming dense vegetation and a semicircular benches around a topographic play and fountain as an informal playground for children.

Please indicate the main themes of your project with 5 key words.
New square

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
Tactical urbanism

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
Cities for people

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
Shared space

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
Walkable cities

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of sustainability and how these have been met. Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context.
Brussels is strongly marked by the presence of cars. The major roads segment the city and constitute physical barriers, leaving small space for pedestrians and cyclists. Road and parking infrastructures dedicated to cars still occupied 70% of public space in 2015. The previous situation of the Guy Cudell square is a perfect example of the importance given to the car in the city's public space.
Striving for a sustainable, resilient, friendly and local city where green spaces and public squares are the central points of the city's fabric is the daily commitment of DEV-space through its practice of architecture and town planning in Belgium, France and Switzerland. This conviction goes through the permanent search for the redistribution of public space in favour of pedestrians, cyclists and public transport and through the inversion of the current urban logic: Pedestrian space must be the priority and not a residue of driveable space.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience for people (through design, positive emotions and cultural benefits) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context.
Innovative, fun and aesthetic, this layout becomes a new symbol of the district. The square is visible as one large space from all corners of the crossroads and guarantees the safety of the users. The extension of sidewalks on the different corners of the square allows the installation of new terrasses for the existing cafes and restaurants, in order to reinforce the conviviality and ensure a more continuous presence on the public space.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of inclusion (ranging from accessibility and affordability for all to inclusive governing systems, design for all principles or new societal models) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context.
Working on inclusion was present throughout the design process. This reflection has resulted in the development of road raised to the level of the sidewalks, offering a better accessibility but also in the implementation of an intelligent management system with an economy of means and the reuse of materials in relation to demolition while promoting local actions and offering participatory events.

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the project and civil society have been involved in the project and what has been the impact of this involvement on the project
The project was incredibly well received by the inhabitants with whom we had developed an active participatory process, integrating the needs of the various actors of the public space during the design.

Please explain how different stakeholders at various levels (local, regional, national, European) were engaged in the design and implementation of the project. Please highlight what the added value of their engagement was.
The request was made by the city of Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode in Brussels and more specifically followed by its urban renewal department. The municipality with whom the dialogue was sometimes difficult during the mission and who had to be convinced many times to follow us to the end on this project, was also satisfied and decided to renamed the public space Place Guy Cudell in homage to the former socialist mayor of Saint-Josse who lived in a neighboring house.

Please explain which disciplines and/ or knowledge fields were reflected in the design and implementation of your project. Please explain how representatives of these different fields interacted with each other, and what the added value of this process was.
The landscape office BLOC was part of the design and construction process of the project. The species of trees and shrubs have been thought out to offer areas of edible plants for the inhabitants while defining a volumetric scenography. Each entrance to the square is marked by new trees to reinforce the unique character of the new place.

Please give information on the results, outcomes and impacts achieved by your project in relation to the category you apply for. This includes also benefits from the project for direct and indirect beneficiaries
Today, to our great surprise, the place attracts a very large number of users. This is something we would never have imagined at the start of the project, when we first visited the site. It shows how much there was a real demand and expectation for a new public space in this district and it is obviously a huge satisfaction as an architect to see this.

Please provide documents showing the results, outcomes and impacts of your project
Both
PDF
- pdf-1-15421.pdf
Web link
Please highlight the innovative character of the project, when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the project
The constant search for a new hierarchy of public space requires a drastic reorganisation of traffic, in particular prioritising one-way roads and eliminating transit traffic. This thoughtful reinterpretation will make it possible on the one hand to restore a local and neighborhood scale to certain urban developments initially designed for cars only, but also to radically increase the pedestrian space potentiel until the expected final result of the creation of a new public place.

Please describe the methodology or approach used in your project.
One of the office's preferred tools in this research remains the so-called "sneckdown", a contraction of the words snowy and neckdowns (sidewalk ears). In snowy weather, the more cautious motorist naturally slows down his speed, and thus optimizes his trajectories to finally drive only in the space that is strictly necessary for them. The snow acts as a tracing paper and the tracks left by the car on the snow reveals the spaces that could be returned to pedestrians.
These concepts are the basis DEV-space design process in order to transform a residual car oriented space into a full-fledged urban square.

Please describe which elements of your project could be replicated or transferred to other places, groups of beneficiaries and context. This may involve for example aspects of the methodology, technology, processes, products, learnings etc.
The "sneckdown" process is a tool that can be replicated in lots of urban situation where the development of new junctions to reduce the size of roads and widen the size of pavements is envisaged.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the project addresses by providing local solutions
In Brussels, policies to reduce the impact of cars continue to increase with, for example, the banning of the most polluting cars and the creation of a 30km/h zone in the city center. But the desire to give space back to pedestrians and to privilege soft mobility has recently seen a new enthusiasm by local elected officials supported by citizens in recent years, and this for several reasons:
- Global warming and the need for freshness in recurring periods of heat waves, which leads to the replacement of impermeable, dark and asphalt surfaces with bright and porous plant areas.
- The Covid-19 health crisis, which was able to radically reveal the reappropriation of the city by pedestrians and the spontaneous improvement in air quality during periods of confinement, while confirming the need to enlarge the public spaces so as not to end up against each other.
- The development of the "15min city" concept and the return of local shops and amenities under the impetus of residents and consumers, allowing easy access to essential needs in now multifunctional neighborhoods.
- Recent geopolitical conflicts (the Russo-Ukrainian war in mind) which only underline the risks of our excessive dependence on fossil fuels and which support the already established desires for a transition to soft modes of circulation and the use public transport in major European cities, following the example of car travel which has become too expensive.
Please attach at least 6 high resolution images (or other types of visual representations, if images are not possible) to your application.
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Yes

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Yes

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Yes

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Yes

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Yes

By submitting your application, you understand that all the applications that meet the eligibility requirements will be shared for the purposes of the selection processes, and notably published on the secured platform prizes.new-european-bauhaus.eu and for the purposes of the promotion of these on the New European Bauhaus website and/or other European Commission communication channels. In this sense, the applications would be widely available. Applicants should ensure that they present their projects, in such a way that they could be shared without giving rise to intellectual property related concerns. If your submission is selected as one of the finalists, it will additionally be shared for the purpose of the public vote that will take place. The European Union is granted a licence to use and share your application with the general public and the official external experts for the purposes of the selection process, including the voting. The European Union has the right to use the images and visual materials and the description provided in the application for communication purposes related to the contest and beyond. Rights granted comprise the right to store, reproduce, display, publish and communicate or distribute copies in electronic or digital format, including, but not only, through the internet. Unless you have disclosed your name, the European Commission has no obligation to share your name when using or disseminating your contribution to the public. The European Union cannot be held responsible in case any submitted project, is found to infringe third party’s rights. The European Union shall be neither responsible for the use that third parties may do of the applications or related content.
Yes

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you read and understand that the ‘Guide to Applicants’ of the NEB Prizes 2023, available online in the website of the NEB Prizes 2023, is an integral part of this application form and that it must therefore be observed when completing and submitting your application.
Yes