Footbridges Connect Residents in This Micro-Neighbourhood
Urban Platform designed a micro-neighbourhood to create a community-centric housing project in a disused lot in central Brussels.
This housing project in central Brussels aims to transform former warehouses into a micro-neighbourhood designed to serve its residents and community. The award-winning design consists of a compact and sustainable complex of housing units connected by a network of pathways and communal areas accessible to all levels of mobility to increase social cohesion and community in the neighbourhood.
The micro-neighbourhood offers 56 housing units connected with footbridges and communal gardens and terraces. It aims to be low-energy and highly sustainable with planted flat roofs and built-in “vegetal depressions” that act as rainwater collection systems for plant watering and for use in the shared laundry room.
The rise of these micro-neighbourhoods shows the way in which urban design is re-scaling to accommodate a need for a sense of belonging and community in the city. Along with growing trends in co-living and sharing economies, it shows a shift in the way we interact with our neighbours and fellow city-dwellers towards a more community-minded practice.
