The new primary school "de Zennestraal" and 15 passive housing units of the Brussels Ground Government were inaugurated on the Zennestraat in the presence of local residents, pupils, teachers and representatives from various political levels. The school and housing complex was designed by BOB361, an architecture firm located a stone's throw from the site.

The main challenge of the project was to fit a comprehensive programme of a full primary school and new rental housing into a limited site. The result is a combination of contemporary architecture, active pedagogy and sustainability.

Ingenious design

The design plays with levels and slopes, creating separate primary and nursery areas with interesting relationships between the different levels. The children's experience is at the heart of the design: playful relationships between indoor and outdoor spaces, flexible classrooms and circulation areas as free and dynamic spaces rather than classic static corridors.

The new building is partly located in an interior area, which means that special attention has been paid to maximising natural light through the implantation of free-standing volumes on the one hand, and to noise reduction on the other. The floor of the playground(s) is covered with water-permeable and sound-absorbing rubber, and climbing plants have been planted along the walls to improve both acoustics and biodiversity.

Facade cladding in fire retardant Accoya

The 2342m² of sustainably modified Accoya was treated with a fire retardant treatment by Lemahieu Fire Protection.

Thanks to the exceptional properties of Accoya, the facade requires little or no maintenance and maintains its fire reaction class over time.