Bordering Chaussée de Gand and opening onto Place Schweitzer in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, a corner plot is still one of the few viable sites in the “Cité Moderne” Sustainable Neighbourhood Contract. The site in question is currently occupied by a grassed enclosure and a car park, is highly visible from the square – a local landmark with a large number of amenities and shops – and is accessible by all modes of transport, particularly public transport.
The project involves the construction of a French-speaking kindergarten for around seventy children and a garden within the block, as well as a retail space. The aim is to take advantage of the particular morphology of the block to complete this unfinished part of town and to give Place Schweitzer a new, sustainable programmed facade that is accessible to all. The project will also take account of access and mobility in this pivotal square, in particular by guaranteeing a drop-off point for the kindergarten, and retaining an open-ground garden area to the rear. From an environmental point of view, the project aims to be ambitious, incorporating all the elements needed to make it an exemplary, sustainable block.