CBR Building Watermael-Boitsfort
A dive in the past with Constantin Brodzki and Marel Lambrichs
Concrete casting on another level thanks to new methods
The pursuit of a strict and objective definition of architecture
“Donner l’impression d’une harmony qui n’existe pas”
CONTENT
The CBR Building 4 Construction
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The interior 5 Brodzki vision 8 Concrete 10 Hortas influence 11 Surroundings 11
2023
CBR Building
The CBR Building is a functionalist office building situated in Watermael-Boitsfort, a municipality of Brussels, Belgium. Designed by the architects Constantin Brodzki and Marcel Lambrichs and built between 1967 and 1970, its prefabricated modular facade showcases white concrete instead of hiding it as a construction material, classifying the building as a New Brutalist piece of architecture. In November 2018, it was added to the list of protected heritage within the Brussels-Capital Region.
The CBR building was the only Belgian project selected for the 1979 MoMA exhibition ‘Transformations in Modern Architecture between 1960 and 1980’, where it was celebrated for setting a precedent in expressive facades using prefabricated concrete modules. The building was also mentioned in a publication by the KU Leuven Faculty of Architecture called WTC Tower Teachings, where Marc Dubois described the CBR Building as an example of qualitative real estate architecture within Brussels.
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CBR Building
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The construction was initiated in 1967 by the CBR cement company, who produce and sell a large variety of cements for construction in Brussels, as they needed new infrastructure for their headquarters. The aim for the building was to showcase their abilities and knowledge in working with concrete.
the building is often used for public lectures and events, as it accommodates a small auditorium, a restaurant, a bar and even a small club. The interior features mahogany partitions, parquet floors, bush-hammered concrete details and a concrete spiral staircase from the ground floor to the basement restaurant. The finish is particularly meticulous on the eighth floor “composed of rosewood partition systems, with extremely refined care given, even to the design of the lever handles, door handles, signage, furniture...”. Every material, detail and finishing in the building was chosen by the architects.
In 2017, the CBR was forced to move their headquarters, as the building was no longer up to their standards. The building went vacant for a year after which the coworking company Fosbury & Sons saw their opportunity and occupied the building to create new coworking spaces. Now
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CBR Building
The interior fittings and furniture give the building the “character of a total and complete work”. Some of the furniture Brodzki designed himself in with his friend, the interior architect Jules Wabbes, as well as the American designer Florence Knoll.
completely separate from the underlying glazed facade. With the CBR building, Brodzki reduces the prefabricated facade to its most elementary expression and integrates the windows directly into the modules in cast concrete by means of a wooden batten.
Brodzki saw these urbanistic obligations as objective data and started a systemic structure, admittedly no less sculptural in its monolithic and concrete presence on the site. However, in contrast to an expressionist vision that pushes the architect to express a message or his personality in architecture, the CBR building wants to be the expression of a pursuit of expressiveness based on “an objective and scientific search for the adequate form in architecture.” In reality, the CBR building is an example of a rare radicality in the search for the architectural possibilities of poured concrete through a process of ‘semi-industrialization’. Two remarkable examples of alternatives to the banal curtain wall are the office buildings of the BBL and Foncolin designed by Jacqmain and Wabbes, both from 1958. Their facade consists of a rhythmically designed load-bearing structure that is
Brodzki wanted to exploit all the possibilities of using poured concrete and therefore opted for the oval shape, which in a sense became the factory brand of CBR. Cast concrete is extremely suitable for the development of new forms, which was typical for the architectural design of that time. The whole was delivered assembled on site and only needed to be attached to the structure. As a counterweight to the fixed windows, the completely hermetic building was fitted with an air treatment system consisting of ejecto converters integrated in a plinth of the facade elements. The technical installations were integrated in the concrete structure of the building, to a large extent in the central core. So they no longer had to be hidden behind false ceilings and the concrete of the facade module.
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CBR Building
The CBR building is one of the most consistent examples of the use of architectural concrete, in the elaboration of a design that takes into account the entire process of elaboration and application of basic elements from the very first design phase. CBR’s architecture is detached from the urban framework and fully exploits the autonomy of architectural writing, which consciously articulates its functional character and the plastic possibilities of poured concrete in the development of its geometries. Nothing should deviate from the strict implementation of this elementary and minimalist architecture,
not even the entrance. This is incorporated into the unrelenting rhythm of the modulation. To such an extent that the company had to install signage afterwards so that visitors would find the entrance. The pursuit of a strict and objective definition of architecture goes hand in hand with an obsessive attention to the functional detail and its execution. The plasticity of the undulating oval facade elements is partly determined by a conscientious attention to proper drainage of rainwater so that the durability of the facade is assured. This pursuit of continuity is even
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CBR Building
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reflected in the plinth at the bottom of the facade, which is bent over to merge with the ground, so that the architecture is “semble sortir de terre”, as Brodski himself said. He also recognized the influence of Victor Horta in the design of the façade elements of the CBR building. But apart from the curved lines, it was especially Horta’s ability to “donner l’impression d’une harmony qui n’existe pas” that greatly inspired him.
structure of the Vorstlaan. The logic of the large exclusive domains was preserved. This situation was different for the Glaverbel building. The structure of the Terhulpensesteenweg differs somewhat from that of the Vorstlaan. This was also built up with large villas, but they were less imposing than those of the Vorstlaan and stood on considerably smaller plots. These were densely covered with trees and formed a built-up edge of the Sonian Forest. The construction of largescale office buildings such as that of Glaverbel necessitated the clearing of large pieces of land.
Although the construction of the headquarters of Royale Belge was accompanied by the complete redevelopment of the garden and the pond, it did not in any way disturb the general landscape
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CBR MAGAZINE 2023 Brussels, BE Sam Lemmens