Design Team: evr-architecten + BC architects & studies
Client: VUB, ULB, SAU/MSI
Restoration: Callebaut architecten
Stability and techniques: VK Engineering
Winner of Be.Exemplary 2019

The former national guard barracks in the Brussels municipality of Ixelles are getting a new lease on life. The team of evr-architecten, BC architects & studies, and Callebaut architecten for the restoration realized the transformation of the first phase of this walled site into an open, mixed-use, and multifunctional district. When the federal police – which had taken over the buildings from the gendarmerie – announced its move in 2015, the neighboring universities VUB and ULB saw potential to jointly enhance their strategic and spatial position. Based on a detailed analysis of the elements present on the site, the renovation project, led by SAU/MSI for the Brussels Capital Region, aims to enhance the qualities of the existing heritage.

Usquare Feder, the first concrete realization within Usquare, sets a high standard for sustainability and circularity. The dismantling of several adjacent buildings – in total, about twenty-five buildings spread over nearly four hectares – provides 'waste streams' that are converted into repurposed raw materials, such as bricks and glazing. Other materials are recycled and used in for example the granito flooring. The new building materials are bio-based, such as lime-hemp and clay plaster. In this way, the project manages to significantly reduce the inflow and outflow of building materials, thereby reducing CO2 emissions.

This has created a living lab for circularity as the university agreed to use non-certified materials like acoustic clay plaster and organized lime-hemp workshops with students, architects, and contractors. The result is a exemplary project for the development of the rest of the site, with a distinct but respectful architectural language.

This project was made possible by the ERDF program of the European Commission and the Brussels-Capital Region.