The six renovated apartment buildings are situated in the “Helmet” district of Brussels. From the start, it was clear that the principal goal for this renovation would be to equally create a better life quality for the inhabitants as well as for the surrounding neighborhood.

We propose to reorganize the circulation of the housing block in order to reconnect its front facade to the cityscape and its back to the lush greenery of the courtyard garden. In this sense a wider semi-public space is created that fosters human relations and emphasizes a connection to nature.

From an architectural perspective, this is achieved through a minimal intervention in the existing substance to which new volumes are attached, thus extending the living space and creating a new identity that references the historic facades of the existing volume.