Cityforward is a property fund managed by Whitewood which is undertaking the renovation and conversion of 21 former European Commission office buildings, totalling 300,000 m² in the European Quarter. The project is highly ambitious, both in terms of circularity and diversity of programmes, with 30% of the area to be used for residential accommodation and facilities. The initiative could act as a catalyst to transform the European Quarter, currently dominated by offices, into a more mixed, livelier area.

The first step was to define the strategic guidelines for these 21 buildings in the form of Projectlines. Now it is time for designers to bring these conversion projects to fruition and the Palmerston is the second tender process in the series.

This project involves the renovation and redevelopment of two office buildings, known as Trèves and Belliard. Maintaining their current function, the idea is to create an office building complex adapted to trends of “new way of working” and exemplary in terms of sustainability and circularity. The project’s carbon impact has to be as low as possible; thus, maintaining, reusing, biomaterials and innovative materials, and local sourcing are essential parameters for achieving this objective, both for technical installations and construction. A reconfiguration of the interior courtyard is expected to offer a quality green outdoor space for users and visual permeability from the urban space.
The Trèves building, also known as Brussimo, is listed in the inventory of Brussels’ heritage. Therefore, combining respect for the qualities of the existing structure with high energy ambitions will be one of the key points of this transformation.

Whitewood is looking for an architect for a design mission. This designer will collaborate with an executive architect and engineers already designated by Whitewood.