The neighbourhood contract for the Cité Moderne of Berchem Sainte-Agathe proposes to restore a jewel of Brussels modernist heritage in order to meet today’s social and ecological challenges.

The mission combines drawing up a master plan and designing the public spaces of this listed building site. The aim is to rehabilitate the wide variety of public spaces in the garden city (squares, small squares, gardens, roads, alleyways, paths, etc.), their specific identities and their convivial function. The project will be structured around the “heart of the neighbourhood “; a school square opening onto the schools neighbourhood; and a network of squares and paths dedicated to games, sports and leisure activities around the historic Victor Bourgeois axis.

The heart of this project aims at developing interactions within the housing estate and with the surrounding areas (schools, shops, Zavelenberg project). The proposal will allow for ease of use and appropriation by all. The process includes the participation of citizens and future users. It is also an opportunity to create a maximum of permeable spaces, to preserve the richness of biodiversity, and to initiate a reflection on this “city-countryside” link. The proposed vision will give coherence to the urban developments between them and with the renovation of the modernist neighbourhood housing.