XaveerArchitects De Geyter The beauty of Brussels often exists in the reckless juxtaposition of different types of urbanity. The Rogier Square is such a point of friction where the North-quarter, the Sint-Joost neighborhood and the center area of Brussels unwillingly collide. The location is nowadays used in an intensive but chaotic way by different kind of passers –by, shoppers, commuters, hotel guests and local residents. Everybody carefully avoids one another and disappears as fast as one arrives on the square. Today the square lacks the specificity to generate a hotspot in the city.
Rogier Square Brussels, Belgium
This project proposes a spatial strategy. Horizontal and vertical connections are reorganized by concentrating the several kinds of uses of the public space. Simultaneously the square itself becomes a fluid open space again. Finally a special articulation is proposed that clearly differentiates the square from the boulevard, and accentuates the square as a new reference point on the axis Koekelberg-Botanique. The project has three main elements: the strip : A car free zone, a green walking area with urban recreation activities. the canopy : An enormous glass and steel roof that partly covers the boulevard and clearly marks the place. Almost all public transport transfers are gathered under it. the square : By concentrating all activities along the two previous elements the later could be conceived as an open more representative space that can easily be appropriated by the surrounding hotels and the Dexia Tower.