Future Bank: a New Face in the City

allowing for unconventional permeable spaces within a vast urban block

Master thesis (2022)

Authors

J.C. Linde Architecture and the Built Environment

Contributors

S. De Vocht Situated Architecture - Architecture and the Built Environment (supervisor 1)
S.S. Mandias Situated Architecture - Architecture and the Built Environment (supervisor 1)
M.W. Klooster Teachers of Practice / A - Architecture and the Built Environment (supervisor 2)
Mark Pimlott Situated Architecture - Architecture and the Built Environment (supervisor 1)
S. Pietsch Situated Architecture - Architecture and the Built Environment (supervisor 1)
D.J. Rosbottom Situated Architecture - Architecture and the Built Environment (supervisor 1)
Faculty
Architecture and the Built Environment
Copyright: © 2022 Julia Linde
City Public Theatre Institute Bank Brussels Face
More Info
expand_more

Published Date

22-06-2022

Language

English

Reuse Rights

Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.

Faculty

Architecture and the Built Environment

Abstract

This year, the Interiors Buildings Cities graduation studio
has revolved around the topic of the Future Bank. The project addresses the transformation of the National Bank of Belgium set in Brussels, consisting of a vast triangular urban block of 90.000 m2. The bank, designed by Van Goethem just after the Second World War, is an imposing building with a 200 meter long columnar façade rising up from the adjacent boulevard.

As the city of Brussels has declared itself a doughnut economy, the city is moving away from traditional forms of economics. The city is no longer aiming for unending growth, but aiming for stability, equality and wellbeing. Therefore the bank needs to be reframed within it’s new economic and societal context. What image does the bank want to portray in the 21st century?

Here the project began with the grass route movements, counteracting the heavy façade by creating more intimate spaces within the colonnade. This translated into reframing the bank into several parts with a new end stretching out towards the city. This allowed for more intimate spaces to be created within the vast urban block, creating a new public and inviting face of the bank. A new face in the city.