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.

The first step was to define the strategic guidelines for these 21 buildings in the form of Projectlines. Conversion projects are currently taking shape and Lux 46, primarily a housing project, is the fifth competition in the series organised as part of this initiative.

This project involves converting an office building in the heart of the European Quarter, at 46 Rue du Luxembourg, into residential units incorporating high-quality outdoor spaces. As well as the new housing units, the ground floors will be opened up to the neighbourhood with retail developments and cultural facilities, and the interior garden, roofs and terraces will be landscaped to encourage biodiversity. The architectural and landscaping brief will have to take on board high sustainability targets, considering operational and embodied carbon, water management and circularity.

Whitewood is looking for an architect and an open space designer for a complete assignment. These designers will work with structural and technical engineers, acousticians, as well as sustainability experts already appointed by the project owner.