Brussels European Quarter Belgium : Architecture

Fletcher Priest's sustainable design for Brussels European Quarter is runner-up in stellar shortlist. Fletcher Priest Architects has been awarded second place in the close result of a competition to restructure Brussels' European Quarter. The judges praised the scheme for its human scale and public spaces and, in particular, for its inherent sustainability. The brief called for the transformation of an existing highway-dominated district of the city, doubling its density and introducing a diverse range of uses. From 35 practices that entered, the practice reached a stellar shortlist of five: OMA (in collaboration with NFArchitects, Agence TER, OVE ARUP, DEGW and SETEC Partenaire Développement), Xaveer de Geyter Architecten (in collaboration with Michel Desvigne Paysagiste, Laurent Ney & Partners, TRITEL Mobilité and Resource Analysis), the eventual winners atelier Christian de Porzamparc (in collaboration with Jacques Wirtz, Coteba Belgium and OVE ARUP), and JDS Architects (in collaboration with Studio Associato Secchi-Vigano , 3E , Laurent Ney & Partners and TRITEL Mobilité). Fletcher Priest collaborated with WIT Architecten of Belgium, Arup and Davis Langdon. The competition was organised by Brussels-Capital Région in close partnership with the European Commission and the City of Brussels. The next stages in the competition will be as follows: - the winner will develop its draft between now and the autumn 2009 - the winner will advise the project promoter during the implementation stage - the first works will start after 2011 An exhibition covering the five projects selected during the final phase of the competition will be organised in Brussels during the summer 2009. Brussels European Quarter image / information from Fletcher Priest Architects 090309