Page 38 - Black group Booklet

Scenario 2:

Region of Brussels and

the two universities

This scenario supposes the government One project to have inspired this and

of the Brussels Capital Region acquires the next scenario is ‘We kopen samen
this building in the framework of USqua- Den Oudaan’. As the large ‘Den Oudaan’
re, “bringing people, city and knowled- tower in Antwerp was put up for sale,
ge together” inside the former mili- a collective of citizens started to image
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tary complex situated in front of said what would be possible to organize or
building. Together with the two Brussels install there, if they were to buy the bu-
universities, ULB and VUB, the regio- ilding. They didn’t buy it eventually, but
nal government manages the Usquare the concepts and ideas they have deve-
project. They wish to create on the one loped show that real estate can also be

hand a new expertise centre of interna- redeveloped in a way that benefits a city
tional importance and on the other hand and its inhabitants.
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meet the needs of the city’s inhabitants
in terms of housing, facilities and quality Other programme, design and concept
of life. Among its goals is the reinforce- elements were inspired by both small
ment of Brussels as international metro- and large existing projects in for exam-
polis, a crossroads of cultures. Further, ple Iran, Australia, USA and Israel.
the Region aims to open the site up to the
city, develop family and student housing,
lay out welcoming and attractive public
spaces, create local facilities for nearby

residents, and accommodate the uni-
versity project which includes interna-
tional exchanges. It is in this framework
we imagine a scenario for the building:
how can this building integrate the va-
lues that are put forward in the descrip-
tion in the USquare project? In which
way can our building accommodate and
provide a programme for newcomers?

‘We kopen samen Den Oudaan’

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