Transformation of the National Bank of Belgium

Master thesis (2022)

Authors

P. Henle Architecture and the Built Environment

Contributors

S. De Vocht Situated Architecture - Architecture and the Built Environment (mentor)
M.W. Klooster Teachers of Practice / A - Architecture and the Built Environment (mentor)
S.S. Mandias Situated Architecture - Architecture and the Built Environment (mentor)
Mark Pimlott Situated Architecture - Architecture and the Built Environment (graduation committee member)
D.J. Rosbottom Situated Architecture - Architecture and the Built Environment (graduation committee member)
S. Pietsch Situated Architecture - Architecture and the Built Environment (graduation committee member)
Faculty
Architecture and the Built Environment, Architecture and the Built Environment
Copyright: © 2022 Pascal Henle
More Info
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Published Date

22-06-2022

Language

English

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Faculty

Architecture and the Built Environment

Abstract

The National Bank of Belgium stands as a fortified conglomerate of historic patchwork structures, within central Brussels. With its inherent role having shifted from that of a safekeeper of physical goods towards a mere office, the building can be made publicly accessible, taking on an active role in the city.
By understanding the existing building through the layers of the shell (as physical infrastructure with a lifespan of about 60 years) and sets (of furniture and partitions which are constantly replaced) the bank can be manipulated and re-used.
The careful clearance of the inner courtyard allows for an extension of the existing ‘shell’. A new framework, inserted within the courtyard, only revealing itself as chapters within the monumental facade.
The bank's excessive storage of outdated ‘sets’ become active elements in the spatial formation of the new bank. Providing an alternative narrative to the rapid regeneration of the office interior.