The New Brucity Administrative Center in Brussels
The vast building with floorspace of 37,000 square meters has an impressive glass facade that stands for transparency. This facility is the new workplace for around 1,700 employees of Brussels city council. Glass cylinders that house the elevators run through the building like a spinal cord. A public restaurant and a spectacular rooftop patio with a panoramic view of Brussels city center are located on the two top storys. The building was designed by Belgian architectural firm Bruno Albert Architectes & Associés. Brussels architect Pierre Lallemand was responsible for designing the glass facade. Philippe Van der Velpen, interior designer at Procos, designed the reception on the first story and all the workspaces. He was also in charge of furnishing the plenary chamber.
Reinforcing Democratic Principles
The planning team applied democratic principles to the plenary chamber’s design. For instance, all members have an equal say in decision-making processes. A circular or semi-circular seating layout encourages open debate. Just like the rest of the building, it’s important in a democracy that the plenary chamber offers public access. Therefore, plenty of seats for people to see what’s going on and easy-to-read signs were a must.
The project focused on good acoustics so that attendees of meetings could hear and be heard well. The goal is for council members and local people to be able to follow meetings and decision-making processes in their entirety. Technology also plays a key role. For instance, meetings can be live-streamed and local Brussels people can find information via video conferences or other digital tools. Daylight from the large windows and lighting throughout the building also foster transparency and create a pleasant environment.
Multipurpose Spaces
“As a result, we wanted to find furniture that met the needs of a prestigious plenary chamber and a range of other purposes. The plenary chamber’s design language is also very specific and we sought a partner who could translate it perfectly.”
Van der Velpen
Most of the items of furniture are custom made and permanent features of the room. Van der Velpen chose Wilkhahn’s mobile pieces of furniture to complement them. He picked Versa tables (design: Wolfgang C.R. Mezger) whose table tops’ form and finish can be customized to suit preferences. Versa allows tables and table configurations to be configured for various settings. Intra conference chairs (Phoenix Design) combine superior comfort with a design language that blends in perfectly with the interior design concept. If the plenary chamber needs furniture for a different type of meeting, the Versa tables and Intra chairs are taken away and replaced with Aline chairs (design: Andreas Störiko). The skid-base chair offers relaxing comfort.
The ergonomic AT office chair with its free-to-move capability encourages healthy dynamic sitting for staff in offices and at reception. It prevents backache and stimulates both body and mind to make office workers more productive and healthy. Similarly to the other items of high-quality Wilkhahn office furniture, AT is also made of hard-wearing, recyclable materials.
In keeping with all public tenders for furniture and to ensure sustainability, Green Public Procurement (GPP) principles were also applied to the new Brussels administrative building. Environmentally friendly materials and products such as FSC/PEFC wood, recycled wool or low-VOC paints were therefore used in the construction and design. And the stringent ecological criteria were ultimately good reasons for picking Wilkhahn’s long-lasting and sustainable office furniture.