There is currently no structure specifically focused on pediatric medicine in Belgium. However, Brussels is home to the Queen Fabiola University Children’s Hospital (HUDERF), the only hospital of that type in Belgium. To address the current lack, an initiative has been launched with the creation of “Brussels Research Institute for Pediatrics (BRIP)” in order to support the establishment of this institute. This project aims to meet several objectives: attracting international research teams, offering state-of-the-art laboratories suited for pediatric research, encouraging multidisciplinary approaches, fostering interactions between different services and specialties, and strengthening research collaborations between university pediatrics, etc.

The chosen location for this new institute is near HUDERF to facilitate collaboration and establish an effective synergy between the two structures. This project must integrate harmoniously into the particular context of the Brugmann hospital-university campus, respecting the pavilion-like character of the site, where many buildings are listed in the architectural heritage inventory. The design must also deal with the density of the program for the site and prioritize compactness for successful integration. Furthermore, special attention will be paid to the building’s flexibility and sustainability.

Beliris is seeking in the applications stage a multidisciplinary team with the essential competencies in architecture, stability engineering, and special techniques engineering. Other competences, such as EPB advisor, acoustic expert, and BIM expert, will only be required at the bid proposal stage.