Architectural
Days

10  19 
november 2023

IV. Love

Love, or spaces of care and solidarity: Beguinage, Nursery Nieuwkinderland, Tri Postal, La ferme du chant des cailles – visit-exchange with the public.

While care has been increasingly medicalized and solidarity amongst humans is consistently shaken by political and economic circumstances, the ways in which we take care and look after one another strongly impact social cohesion, health and happiness. The 12th-century béguines first formed an independent and inclusive religious community in the Beguinage of Brussels, and its tradition of care has persisted in the urban fabric since then through the Hospice Pacheco, social housing and childcare facilities. The NieuwKinderland nursery, where a sculptural unifying ramp allows access and meeting areas to people of all ages and abilities, shows how architecture can bring people with different needs together. Tri Postal - a vacant mail sorting centre transformed into a social and cultural experiment - takes care of its environment, even beyond its walls. Here, associations offer various services to the neighbors, whether it is those who sleep in the neighboring streets or the young people of Saint-Gilles. The urban agriculture project La Ferme du Chant des Cailles proposes ideas for a more ecological and participatory urban future while begging the question of territorial programming in a dense city context which lacks housing. These temporary occupations allow us to discuss possible futures of how we want to live together. Not only with humans, but also other city dwellers as animals and plants.

I. Life

II. Education

III. Ceremony

V. Death

© Communa Asbl
  • Project nominated for the Brussels Architecture Prize
  • Sustainable Architecture
  • New in town
  • Agency visit
  • Partner