The old industrial site of Van Roy interior decorators is located in lower Forest, between Bempt park and Forest abbey.  Foyer du Sud wishes to turn this densely built-up site into one hundred social housing units, together with shared facilities, and a garden or outdoor area.

There are various challenges in this mission.  The project must promote a positive image of social housing with quality accommodation, open up the neigborhood by proposing facilities and pleasant outdoor spaces for locals and residents, improve the clarity of the urban block, while respecting the site’s industrial past.

The client has avoided three pitfalls while programming this new project: tabula rasa, a monofunctional project and the closure of the site in the run-up to the final project. Therefore, Foyer du Sud wishes to appoint a multidisciplinary team (architect, engineer, landscaper, etc.) capable of developing a common vision based on conservation and urban mix, and consideration of activities linked to its temporary occupation.  In fact, Foyer du Sud is negotiating with a site administrator in order to allow temporary occupation of the locations while waiting for completion of the project.

The project authors must consider the value of the existing building and find innovative and circular solutions to reconvert what is already here. They should propose genuine interaction, in the short and long term, between those using the housing and facilities in order to guarantee a true mix. Finally, the team must communicate with the different operators involved in temporary activities in order to prefigure the final project from the very beginning.