Atelier Kempe Thill

The Clos des Mariés project is a new phase of the Usquare development in which former barracks of the Royal Gendarmerie School in Ixelles, Belgium, will be partly transformed into a new social housing estate. The introverted and severe character of the listed brick buildings will become a welcoming and high-quality ensemble. A new layer of terraces in steel and wood will enhance the quality of the dwellings, working as a soft transition between collective and private domains. The whole project is an example of an approach attuned to sustainability and circularity. By keeping as many of the existing materials as possible thanks to a strategy of reuse, and by proposing alternative ecological solutions for the new materials, the project really limits the impact of the construction on the environment and the production of waste. Moreover, the Clos des Mariés will be connected to the district heating of the Usquare project, thus eliminating the need for fossil fuels.