Cultural hub Manchesterstraat Brussels

Civic Architects and BC architects are transforming a monumental ensemble around two courtyards into a cultural 'production center' in Molenbeek, Brussels. It will be the cultural heart of the neighborhood with more than ten thousand square meters of public interior and exterior spaces, a multipurpose hall for performing arts and events, studios and housing for artists, social facilities, and a large space for circular production. The design is based on the idea that the future is already embedded in the present and the history of the place.

An urban landscape of differences
The strength of the Manchester ensemble lies in the variety of its parts. Each building and outdoor space has a specific (cultural) history, bay size, structural condition, indoor climate, natural light, material palette and atmosphere. Collectively, they form a diverse urban landscape with open and enclosed spaces, hot and cold ones, large and small, high and low. Instead of restoring everything to the same technical level, we embrace the industrial quality of the heritage and take the characteristic details and traces of use as the basis for its new purpose. 'Program follows building', instead of 'Building follows program'. The whole forms a flexible support, a structure that can be appropriated and adapted.

Public architecture as key piece
What the existing buildings lack - fully climate-controlled spaces, large spans - we add by new architecture. We replace the buildings on the street - which are in a dangerous and irreversibly poor condition - with a new public building. This building forms the 'servant space' that enhances the functionality, flexibility, and public value of the existing buildings. In this way, we complement the ‘ensemble of differences’, rather than levelling it.

The new building mediates between street and courtyards. The entrance zone forms the pivot point and provides access to both courtyards. The bar/resto and the multipurpose hall are located on both sides of the entrance and are also directly accessible from the street and the courtyards. From the entrance area, all parts of the ensemble can be overseen and regulated by a single manager, enabling various usage scenarios.

The new building represents the public quality of the ensemble in scale, form and rhythm. The design seeks kinship with the industrial architecture that defines this part of Brussels, in the rhythm of the façade, the reclaimed brick, the expression of the structure. The building is low, allowing the former 'Graeffe' sugar refinery to come into view. The rounded brick columns form a soft filter between the street and the interior and give the building a collective rhythm. The double-height multipurpose hall features a striking hempcrete interior. A new stair and lift tower makes the Graeffe refinery - which was previously accessible only from the courtyard - reachable from the Manchesterstraat. The brick tower forms the vertical counterpart of the horizontal plinth and marks the ensemble from across the canal.

Green oasis in The Heyvaert neighbourhood
The Manchester ensemble is situated in the heart of the Heyvaert; a neighbourhood well-known for exporting second-hand vehicles to Africa. The area has a contrasting, sometimes discordant complexity that is intriguing but also imbalanced. The typology of large plots with deep, windowless warehouses does not align well with the needs of the diverse population. Public space and green areas are scarce and there is a lack of public gathering spots.

The transformation of the ensemble contributes to its surroundings, not only through its new cultural program but also by creating a new network of public spaces. A new public connection between Manchesterstraat and Birminghamstraat forms a key urban intervention. This was made possible by the decision not to build the planned public car park, and invest in pedestrian routes instead. On Manchesterstraat and Birminghamstraat, we establish double-height public entrances reminiscent of the typical Brussels ‘porte-cochère’. The route traverses the courtyard and the covered public interior of the Bodega. A monumental new staircase bridges the height difference between two lots that were always separated. Suddenly, a massive, enclosed city block measuring 400 by 200 meters becomes a part of the city's public domain

The logistics inner courtyards are transformed into green areas for experimentation, production and leisure. The enclosed residual space on the south-west side becomes a wild fruit garden. Along Manchesterstraat we introduce a green urban balcony, and the 'hanging gardens' on the rooftop offer stunning views of the city. The greenery enhances the experience of the seasons, providing cooling and water retention in a neighbourhood with an astonishing 95% of its surface covered in pavement.

Adaptive climate concept
Manchesterstraat is an experiment in sustainable construction. Our strategy revolves around interpreting the ensemble as an urban landscape with different climate zones. Instead of fully insulating all buildings, we only replace the window frames and utilize the climate characteristics of the spaces as a guide for their new uses. We distinguish four zones; outdoor space, unheated and moderately heated indoor spaces, and fully insulated new structures. Existing spaces are suitable for low-rent production activities. Energy generation within the ensemble is achieved through (hybrid) solar panels and geothermal energy. As for ventilation, we rely as much as possible on passive principles.

Three architectural objects enhance the sustainability of the Graeffe refinery. Four solar chimneys provide natural ventilation for the remaining parts of the refinery. The air in the solar chimney warms and rises, extracting air from the floors below. The chimneys are grouped within two glass rooftop structures; the rooftop restaurant on the refinery, and the greenhouse on the Bodega. The characteristic shape stems from its climatic properties and alludes to its industrial past.

Form follows circularity
Manchesterstraat is radical in its circularity. In the far-reaching preservation of the existing. In the separation of support and infill in line with Brand's 'Shearing layers'. In the way the 'harvested materials' of the demolished building parts are carefully recovered so they can be reused for the new building. And finally, in the way the architecture represents the circularity of the ensemble.

The design of the new architecture follows from the construction process and the properties of the materials. The façade of the new building on Manchester Street is made of reclaimed bricks.

In the second layer of the plinth, a hempcrete structure with large spans shapes the multipurpose hall. Its vault is the result of the radical choice to use only hempcrete as a structure. The parabolic shape proved to be the most effective way to span 10 meters. The package breathes, regulates moisture, insulates, and absorbs 1.5 times its own weight in CO2.

Collaboration
Manchesterstraat is a complex project. It unites different scales, users, cultures and interests. This requires a team that is itself sufficiently diverse. A team that has no fixed stylistic signature or conceptual dogmas, but works with an open, inquisitive attitude. Team ‘a Bord’ consists of BC Architects, Civic architects, Architectural Workroom Brussels, Arne Deruyter landscape architecture, BAS structural design, Cenergie, Bureau De Fonseca and Abesco.