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 are taking shape and Joseph 70 is the seventh competition to be organised in this context.

This project concerns the renovation and energy transformation of an office complex located at Rue Joseph II 68-80, Rue de Spa 5 to 7a, and Rue Stevin 1-13. While retaining its main function, the goal is to create an exemplary office complex that meets the highest sustainability standards and aligns with the “new way of working.”

The renovation revolves around several major challenges.
It involves determining the necessary level of intervention on the building envelope to meet energy standards, while integrating the building into a neighborhood in transition. Reuse and short supply chain solutions will be analyzed.
The activation of the ground floors, with the qualitative integration of retail spaces and/or facilities. The location of these functions must allow the public space to be enlivened by the architectural features of the building.

Finally, the project also aims to optimize the basements and technical floors, and to streamline access and internal circulation in order to make the building more flexible and improve accessibility and use of space.

Whitewood is looking for an architect to take on the architectural and landscape 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.