THE WORLD TRANSFORMATION CENTER In 2018, we temporarily occupied the World Trade Center in Brussels’ North District, along with many creative entrepreneurs, design practices, urban initiatives and an architecture school. The WTC-I 23rd floor was transformed into a public knowledge platform and incubator for the collaborative design of strategic transformation projects and investment programmes to better respond to global challenges. For this occasion, the WTC was renamed “World Transformation Center” and established as the central venue of You Are Here, Brussels’ architecture and transition biennial ‘in-the-making’. To meet the ambitious goals set by the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations to combat climate change and its consequences, radical changes are needed. The transitions—to renewable energy, circular economy, shared mobility, healthy food production, etc.—will not take place without major modifications to our cities and landscapes, and not without citizens, experts and policymakers who live within and decide upon them. No transitions without spatial transformation, and no spatial transformation without social movement. Many innovative spatial practices are rethinking their work methodologies and concepts within architecture, urban development, and spatial planning when integrating aspects of policy development, knowledge production, climate change, energy transition, water management, food production, circular building and/or impact investment. However, the existing insights and experiments often remain too isolated and disconnected from policy, financing and governance instruments to grow and multiply. The World Transformation Center facilitates the connection, combination and structuring of the existing expertise, insights and dynamics. In its inspiring space, it hosts public debates, harvesting workshops, research-by-design ateliers, governance labs, and thus enables public administrations, research institutions, citizens associations, schools, companies and entrepreneurs to exchange, jointly developing knowledge and design methodologies for transformation. With transformation programmes worth over 20 million euro in implementation projects as kick-off, more than 400 actors from different backgrounds cooperated, exposing their work-in-progress in a continuously evolving exhibition and work environment.
© 2019 Installation for AUGURES/Bap! from May 3 to July 13, 2019 Image: Max Creasy and OK–RM Video: Het Peloton and Architecture Workroom Brussels Texts, illustrations and layout: Architecture Workroom Brussels Photographs (in order of appearance) Parcours through the World Trade Center I in Brussels. Credits: Max Creasy and OK–RM Climate Districts model as a background for The Big Energy Transformation debate. Credits: Yann Bertrand Presentation in the framework of Water+Land+Schap. Credits: Bob Van Mol Air quality map of Brussels. Credits: Bob Van Mol The World at Risk map for the investment programme Water as Leverage. Credits: Bob Van Mol Visit of the Maria school of Schaarbeek for an educational trajectory. Credits: Bob Van Mol Working table in the framework of the investment programme Water+Land+Schap. Credits: Bob Van Mol World Transformation Conference on theories of change. Credits: Bob Van Mol