The municipality of Ixelles is building a new daycare center on Maximilien Street as part of the “Petite Suisse” Sustainable Neighbourhood Contract. It will notably provide care for children aged 0 to 18 months, a service that is currently lacking in this part of the municipality.

Four sections are planned, each designed to accommodate children from their entry into the daycare up to 36 months of age, which requires a specific design of spaces and circulation. The project also includes rooms accessible to neighborhood residents outside the daycare’s opening hours.

The daycare will be set up in a house on Maximilien Street, as well as in the workshop adjoining the house within the interior of the block. This complex, originally built to house a printing facility, will therefore undergo a significant transformation. The municipality wishes for the project to enhance the existing buildings. The volumes, spatial configuration, and load-bearing structure will form the backbone of the new architectural proposal: for example, the sections will need to be distributed across multiple levels while ensuring efficient overall operation.

The plot is densely built, yet sufficient outdoor space will need to be created to accommodate children’s play areas and to develop green spaces that support biodiversity. Finally, the municipality requires that the entire project follow a sustainable approach based on the principles of “Climate Responsive Design”.