This truly seventies-iconic office complex, located close to Montgomeryplein/Square Montgomery in Woluwe-St-Pierre, was built as and remains the headquarters of INAMI/RIZIV. The site offers a pleasant and excellently situated working environment with a unique character between the modern and the traditional. The two office buildings are linked by a central garden and basement. Built in the early 1970s and renovated between 2001 and 2004, the site deserved a new upgrade and interpretation.
The project respects the site, taking as its starting point an optimised transformation that enhances the value of the buildings, by tackling sustainable renovation work: free heights, underused underground volumes, respect for the existing architecture, particularly the facade, meeting technical and safety requirements, etc.
Previously, the identity, functionality, mixity, experience of each building were undervalued individually and collectively, while the green area with covered outdoor path was neither physically used nor integrated into the site as a whole.
The project is all about this ‘secret garden’, deservedly accompanied by aspects such as sustainability and high-end office design (WELL, SMART BUILDING) where an inversion of experience is the new starting point. The existing planting is completely revamped and optimised and multiplied across the entire plot. A convivial meeting pavilion is provided in a central location.
From this green lung, the garden becomes the beating heart of the project that shares user movements between the three entities that make up the site, in the process generating an intense, extroverted life.
Soft traffic enters the site through the existing entrance on Rue du Collège St Michel/Sint-Michielskollegestraat, or through a new double-height opening on the Tervurenlaan/Avenue de Tervueren. After the necessary security checks, you enter the reception pavilion with cafeteria that invites you to enjoy the green surroundings.
