Renovation Studio Els Claessens Brecht Verstraete Lucia Inczingerovรก Evert Leeuws Ruben Vanvlasselaer
site
Within the pentagon of Brussels on the Nieuwe Graanmarkt, an old warehouse that used to store and sell bananas and oranges, is patiently waiting for a new function. The beautiful modernistic building has lost its former glory and will be renovated to a neighborhood school and housing for families and students. The Nieuwe Graanmarkt is situated in the posh Dansaert quarter and withing walking distance of the pedestrian zone around the Anspach Boulevard and Central Station. In front of the buidling is a large square with a basketball court.
concept
values
The first and original ramp has an inviting character. It’s a playful way to go up to the kindergarden level, and the starting point of the promenade architectural that is so important in our building.
At the back of the building, the original shape of the arch is restored. With its beautiful south oriented views over the Brussels skyline, it will give space to apartments.
The threeway division of the building reminds us of the layout of a church or a cathedral. The side aisles will host the serving spaces and circulation, while the nave allows for open and big spaces.
program
1 2
level -1
1 technical space, 2 cooking space, toilets and storage, 3 eating and event space scale
1:200
3
0
5
15
1
level 0
1 playground, gym, multifunctional space 2 storage space underneath slope
2
0
5
15
3
4
1
1 2
level +1
1 classroom (kindergarden), 2 covered playground, 3 storage, 4 first aid room
1
0
5
15
2
1
1
level +2
1 classroom (primary school), 2 teacher’s room, 3 principal’s office and secretariat, 4 multifunctional room
3
4
0
5
15
1
1
level +3
1 classroom (primary school),
0
5
15
1
1
level +4
1 classroom (primary school),
0
5
15
1
references
JAJA Architects in Kopenhagen - playground
level +5
1 playground, 2 student residency
2
0
5
15
1
level +6
1 student residency
0
5
15
roof plan
0
5
15
longitudinal section
references
Lacaton & Vassal in Nantes - materiality, sequence
Kathleen Mertens & BAS - spatial quality
cross section
The new added volume on top will have a cladding of corrugated steel. As a material it is clearly distinct from the older elements of the building, thus showing clearly which parts are new or added. Nevertheless the corrugated steel also compliments the existing concrete and the modernistic architecture of the building.
front elevation before
RUBEN bovenste deel weg, nieuwe raamverdeling
front elevation after Spot the seven differences. You might not say so at first sight, but the facade has gone through quite a change. The floor slab between floors +1 and +2 and the wall between the classrooms on each floor have lead to a different distribution of the facade. Furthermore we have added tilting windows to allow for fresh air to come in, on top of the ventilation grates at the bottom of certain windows (dark gray strip). The former garage door and strange entrance on the right of the building are redesigned to better fit in the whole composition of the facade. The vertical distance between two windows of a different compartment is more than 1 meter everywhere, so there is no danger for flashover. Between floors +1 and +2 it is less than 1 m, but this is solved by putting these floors in the same compartment.
back elevation
Complying to the norms regarding fire safety for schools, every compartment of the school has two exits. On levels +1 and +2 (which are in the same compartment) the existing ramp is used as a fire escaping route. In case of emergency, levels +3 and +4 of the primary school can also use the staircase of the residents.
150 p
-1 1.4 m
1.8 m for the current emergency exits, the occupation of this room shouldn’t be more than 150 p at one time, this is exactly the amount of kids that can sit here
0
25 p
+1
25 p
25 p
1.4 m
1.2 m
8p
3p
25 p
+2
25 p
25 p
1.4 m
1.2 m
fire safety The compartments for the apartments and student residency each have a total occupation of less than 50 people, subsequently they only need one emergency exit.
+3
25 p
25 p 29 p
+4
1.4 m
1.2 m
1.4 m
1.2 m
the total occupation (np) for this duplex compartment is 29 p, the occupation based on furniture (nr) is 10 p
25 p
25 p
+5
19 p
1.4 m
+6
1.2 m
the total occupation (np) for this duplex compartment is 19 p, the occupation based on furniture (nr) is 13 p
For the ventilation of the school we use a type C ventilation system, it is schematicly shown below. The air intake happens via grates in the windows, and the extraction happens via ventilation shafts that lead to the installation in the basement, to go up to the roof subsequently. For the housing, the ventilation also works with type C, and each living unit has its own extraction system. Since this layout is more conventional (extraction via wet rooms) we have not included them in the schemes.
different air group for kitchen 770 mm
200 mm
-1
300 mm 640 mm 990 mm
520 mm the shaft with 990 mm section goes from the ventilation installation directly to the roof
0 350 x 700 mm
350 x 700 mm 350 mm
540 mm 990 mm extraction of covered playground is done by two grates that lead to the lowered ceiling above the circulation space and toilets
520 mm
175 mm
the dirty air from the toilets on +1 is extracted via a small seperate extraction system 150 mm
+1
540 mm 990 mm
370 mm extraction is done via ventilation shafts at the top of the atrium, on floor +2
ventilation The area needed for air intake for each classroom adds up to 400 x 1000 mm. Distributed over the width of the windows, we get one air intake strip of 60 mm (see front elevation).
250 mm
160 mm
125 mm
400 mm
+2
510 mm
410 mm
410 mm
600 mm 540 mm 990 mm
370 mm local puncture through emergency exit, here the ventilation shaft is packed in fire protective material
200 mm
370 mm
+3
480 mm
430 mm 990 mm
200 mm
370 mm
+4
480 mm
310 mm 990 mm
The vertical circulation is put inside a concrete box structure which goes fom the basement all the way to the roof. From floor -1 to floor +1, the concrete is filled in between the existing columns. From floor +2 upwards, the old structure in the middle part of the building is demolished and a whole new structure is installed.
-1
0
+1
new columns are installed on top of the old ones and a load distributing beam is placed on top of these columns
+2
in the atrium of the kindergarden long span concrete beams R600/290 cover the space
The concrete beams supporting the floor slab of +3 follow the typology of the old porches to span the entire width, or in this case, till the concrete box structure.
structure
HEA 700 HEA 700 HEA 700
HEA 700 HEA 700 HEA 700
+6
HEA 700
HEA 700 HEA 700
+5
HEA 700
HEA 800
+4
HEA 700
+3
HEA 800
The structure for the upper stories consists of a lightweight steel structure and mainly spans from the concrete box structure to the side columns. The size of the most critical is indicated.
details
6
6
5
5
4
4
3
3
2 2
1 1
detail 1 scale 1:20
detail 2 scale 1:20
detail 3 scale 1:10
detail 4 scale 1:10
detail 5 scale 1:10
detail 6 scale 1:10