3 Social housing project ‘Menslievendheid’ in Brussels/Belgium

Social housing project ‘Menslievendheid’, Menslievendheidsstraat, Brussels, Belgium
Picture: © ABSCIS Architecten

Project ‘Menslievendheid’ (Philantropie) is a social housing project in Menslievendheidsstraat in the Brussels Marolles neighbourhood. According to the architects, the BGHM (Brussels Regional Housing Company) raised the demand for the realisation of affordable and high-quality flats in the heart of Brussels. A timber frame structure was chosen as building principle, to limit the impact on the environment. The building has 8 levels with 15 different residential units and is constructed with a solid plinth and a light demountable timber structure on top of it. Total floorspace is 2.059 m².

The construction of the prefabricated timber structure is highly optimised to the lifecycle of all materials used, as well as to their dismountable and reusable nature. Around 75% of the built construction is in timber construction. An ETICS system with a high-quality decorative render was chosen as the finish. Arthur Van Cauwenberghe (Architect at Abscis Architecten): “All materials and techniques for this project were chosen according to the life cycle of the building and are planned to be reused afterwards. The long life expectancy of ETICS also fits in perfectly with this concept.” Circularity was already considered during the design phase. The entire building was worked out in detail in BIM, so that a digital twin of it will always be available.

The study for the project took place from 2016 to 2019, the realisation from 2021 to 2022. Project ‘Menslievendheid’ has a particularly low energy demand because of the high level of insulation, compact volume, external solar shading and so on. The building is classified as a passive building.