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
yves.malysse@ura.be

Basic information
Project title
JGE

Full Project Title
JGE - Intergenerational Pool, Etterbeek

Please provide a short, catchy description of your project to be used in communication towards the public.
On an introverted urban plot on avenue d’Auderghem in the municipality of Etterbeek, an intergenerational pool is being built with diligence. Social housing, crèche, auditorium, multipurpose foyer, meeting centre, toy library: loose ends are being tied together and connected with the neighbouring school and environment. The urban acupuncture is becoming a reality.

What was the geographical scope of your project?
Regional

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

If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
Municipality of Etterbeeck, Brussels

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)
2021-05-14

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): URA Yves Malysse Kiki Verbeeck
  Type of organisation: For-profit company
  First name of representative: Yves
  Last name of representative: Malysse
  Gender: Male
  Nationality: Belgium
  Function: Partner
  Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Stalingradlaan 100
  Town: Brussels
  Postal code: 1000
  Country: Belgium
  Direct Tel: +32 2 512 56 36
  E-mail: info@ura.be
  Website: https://ura.be
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
- URL: https://instagram.com/ura_yvesmalyssekikiverbeeck/
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): ura_yvesmalyssekikiverbeeck
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?
Press

Description of the project
Please provide a summary of your project.
On an introverted urban plot on avenue d’Auderghem in the municipality of Etterbeek, an intergenerational pool is being built with diligence. Social housing, crèche, auditorium, multipurpose foyer, meeting centre, toy library: loose ends are being tied together and connected with the neighbouring school and environment. The urban acupuncture is becoming a reality. URA won the competition in the context of a sustainable neighbourhood contract.

It is with kid gloves that the architects are intervening in the existing situation. Demolition is being limited, building and topography restructured. The trapeze-shaped wall incision and the fan-shaped crèche and auditorium provide maximum openness and connection with the formal diversity of garden walls and differences in level.

On the western plot border, a former boules club, once designed by Pierre Blondel, has been tactfully converted into a toy library. An indented garden path departs from here – or ends here, depending on your point of view – in the direction of avenue d’Auderghem. A former house, on the one hand, and a new construction, on the other, provide access to the interior area. The ground floor has been kept deliberately porous to draw in the city and to draw the garden out into the city.

The house is being transformed into a meeting place for young parents, and the new construction includes a crèche, social housing and access to the auditorium with a multipurpose foyer on the ground floor. The foyer, the project’s connecting centre, connects the different spaces and levels to each other with the help of some interior and exterior windows.

The concrete shell of the auditorium has been left visible on the ceiling. For acoustic reasons, the walls have been covered with blue felt. Together with the discreet overhead lighting, the royal blue heightens the sense of safety in the heart of this city in the city.

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

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
public spaces

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
multipurpose

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
urban environment

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
new prototype of redeveloping inner building blocks

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.
The critical approach to the complex research demand led to a new prototype of sustainable repurposing of interior of building blocks. A new world of spaces is hidden behind the facades of existing buildings. Within the capriciousness of these 'backsides', a new front can be created, with careful analysis of the existing context, combined with clear architecture and identity. This is a result that answers several very actual topics: how to revalue and repurpose unused spaces? How to introduce new dynamics within existing structures? How to make sustainable use of existing buildings instead of always constructing new ones? How to generate socially sustainable interaction between different generations, who are drifting further and further apart due to the changing society?

All these questions receive a clear and unambiguous answer, both at the architectural level and in the design of the outdoor spaces. Through a new 'language' and materialisation, the interaction with the users and visitors is made very visible. The new interventions are all integrally accessible, are flexible in use, and can change function over time.

The project offers a playful 'chain' where buildings, interiors and outdoor spaces succeed each other. The whole plays on both the larger scale as human interaction and experience.

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.
In addition to the existing heritage, a new language and identity is chosen for all new additions within the block. Light steel pavilions provide a new dynamic, a new typology and a new materialisation and colour within the block.
This creates an overview, a clear recognition of elements, and a guideline throughout the project. These spaces, both on the exterior sides and the interiors, are all very carefully executed, creating a 'chain' of spatial experiences and impressions.

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.
The project is a fully accessible place that provides a meeting place between different cultures and ages. By mixing various activities, from game library to creche to housing to multipurpose hall, a new intense connection is set up for residents of the neighbourhood and beyond.
The project is accessible for every visitor. The building serves different groups and generations. The building is fully accessible in terms of Universal Design. One layer, without trespasses or levels which can be obstructive for entering the building.

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
This project was initiated by the municipality itself, as a result of a neighbourhood contract, which was a result of highly participatory work with the neighbourhood and the municipality. This resulted in a clear programme of requirements, which was needed in the neighbourhood. The various activities are run by people from the neighbourhood, in cooperation with the municipality. The diversity of programmes and spaces ensures that this place is for all people from the neighbourhood, regardless of age, background, culture. It is an inclusive place for all residents.

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.
On regional level an agreement has been made with participation of the bouwmeester maitre architecte of Brussels (bMa), the municipality of Etterbeek, and the different users.
On Brussels regional level, 'wijkcontracten' or 'neighbourhood contracts' are constructions to enable communities to make an in-depth-investments on the real needs of the neighbourhood. This contract results in a very clear list of demands and needs, which can be developed into real projects.
This project is the result of an international design competition, organised by the bouwmeester maitre architecte of Brussels, in collaboration with the municipality of Etterbeek. The project makes place and spaces for the different users of the site: library for toys, social place for young mothers, a kindergarten, a polyvalent space for music and culture, social housing units, public spaces.

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 'neighbourhood contract' distilled from research on the needs of the neighbourhood, makes a clear list of needs and demands from the local neighbourhood.
This instrument is very useful in the defining of a clear program for the architecture.
The expertise of the bouwmeester maitre architecte of Brussels (bMa) in organising well-defined competitions, is a good base for attracting qualitative designers for the project. The municipality facilitates the construction of the different parts of the project.

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
The project is in direct use by the different 'actors' on site: the kindergarten is in use, as well as the library for toys. The polyvalent space is used by the existing school, which uses the function for the music academy, for plays, even as a refectory during mid-days.
The interaction of the different programs results in a new and sometimes unexpected usage. New possibilities are tested constantly, within the same framework.
The flexibility of the program coexists with the specificity of the architecture.

Please provide documents showing the results, outcomes and impacts of your project
PDF
PDF
- pdf-1-35395.pdf
Please highlight the innovative character of the project, when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the project
The project aims to claim to be a new prototype for opening up internal building blocks to the public realm. By opening the inner core of these typical building blocks to the outside, new untouched areas become visible and accesibility for a broad range of visitors, of all ages, of all cultures.
The project tries to show its potential, not only in the specificity of the Brussels context, but as an example for a wide range of European cities, dealing with lack and poor quality of public spaces.

Please describe the methodology or approach used in your project.
The approach is identical to all projects made by the office URA Yves Malysse Kiki Verbeeck. Strong in-depth analysis of both program and context results in a clear scheme for the project. The existing buildings inside the building block are analysed in terms of reusing or upcycling. In addition to these existing, a new architecture is introduced to interact with the users and visitors. A new typology of pavillions is added to the public parcours.
A clear scheme of programs is spread consciously on the site to interact maximally with the fluxes of visitors and users.

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 project aims to claim to be a new prototype for opening up internal building blocks to the public realm. By opening the inner core of these typical building blocks to the outside, new untouched areas become visible and accesibility for a broad range of visitors, of all ages, of all cultures.
The project tries to show its potential, not only in the specificity of the Brussels context, but as an example for a wide range of European cities, dealing with lack and poor quality of public spaces.

The methodology to reach this point can be reused in different specific cases.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the project addresses by providing local solutions
The project aims to claim to be a new prototype for opening up internal building blocks to the public realm. By opening the inner core of these typical building blocks to the outside, new untouched areas become visible and accesibility for a broad range of visitors, of all ages, of all cultures.
The project tries to show its potential, not only in the specificity of the Brussels context, but as an example for a wide range of European cities, dealing with lack and poor quality of public spaces.

New public spaces can be found in the core of existing building blocks, and so minimalises the use of new terrains for new programming.
Please attach at least 6 high resolution images (or other types of visual representations, if images are not possible) to your application.
If you would like to upload additional documentation, please upload or write below
By submitting your application you confirm that you are the copyright owner of the images provided and that they can be used by the European Commission for the purposes of promoting the New European Bauhaus on all platforms (websites, print, social media and other).
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that you are not in in one or more of the exclusion situations foreseen under Article 136 of the Financial Regulation.
Yes

By submitting this application, I declare that I am not related to the entities subject to EU restricted measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and subject to Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)1, and entities covered by Commission Guidelines No 2013/C 205/05), which are not eligible to participate in any capacity.
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that you assume sole liability in the event of a claim relating to the activities carried out in the framework of the contest, that the proposed project has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Prizes in any other category or strand and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.
Yes

By submitting your application, you guarantee that you are the author or have the rights to proceed with the application and to authorise the use of the project and that you have obtained any necessary consents, licenses or assignments from third parties and included copyright notices when necessary.
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