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.

In May 2024, the strategic guidelines for these 21 buildings were laid down in the form of Projectlines. Since then, the transformation projects have taken shape and Belliard-Froissart is the sixth competition to be organised in this context.

This project involves the energy-efficiency renovation of two office buildings, located on Rue Belliard and Rue Froissart respectively, which are interconnected by the interior of the block.
While maintaining their current function, the aim is to transform these buildings into an office complex in line with ‘new way of working’ trends and exemplary in terms of sustainability and circularity.

One of the main challenges of the project is to improve the spatial and environmental qualities of the interior of the block. The aim is to seize the opportunity to rethink the connections between the two buildings to increase the green areas.
In addition, to contribute to the quality of life in the district, the ground floors will be activated and there will also be a focus on the transparency of the façades to strengthen the visual connection between the street, the interior of the buildings and the open space of the block. In particular, the base of the building on Rue Belliard, at the corner with Rue Breydel, benefits from a double-height space, offering interesting potential for reinforcing this visual and functional interaction.

Whitewood is looking for an architect to take on the project design. This designer will work with an executive architect and engineers already appointed by the client. The procedure involves an application and, based on the applications submitted, an interview with the selected candidates. No other project or vision development documents are expected.