Our cities are facing more and more climatic challenges. Monofunctional districts lead to high levels of mobility, which in turn results in a high degree of sealing.

Surrounded by busy roads in the middle of the European Quarter in Brussels is the Îlot Maelbeek city block.Changing work structures have led to large vacancies in the block's office buildings. Its purchase by the city now opens up opportunities for a change towards more biodiversity, mixed use and quality of life.

In Design 3 we want to deal with the redesign and restructuring of the block, which houses the Maelbeek metro station, and the adjacent park, which is separated by spatial barriers. In the designs, we want to link the block to its context and integrate it more strongly into both the neighborhood as a whole and the city of Brussels.

We want to create new complementary functions and open spaces in the block, strengthen the connection between the interior and exterior spaces and, in addition, question the degree of sealing and the use of open spaces.Over the course of the semester, we will first develop a strategy on a territorial scale in teams of three and then design projects based on this.