Exemplary renovation Brunfaut tower in final stage, Brussels (BE)

As in many countries Belgium is also facing a huge renovation challenge of outdated post-war residential towers. Today the financial/ecological impact of not demolishing, the quality of the buildings and their advantageous locations are valued by building owners. But architectural and structural transforming of a 20th-century residential tower requires a sound and reasoned strategy. This is the subject of a lecture by a number of Brussels-based architects for the architecture association Archipel. Speakers include a229 – of the association a299 -Dethier Architecture, with whom Ney & Partners have been carrying out the renovation of the Brunfaut tower for several years. The project maintains the existing steel structure of 1969, and increases the original volume by offsetting the main facades and adding several new levels. In order to retain the existing structure and foundations, the new floors incorporate a truss structure which creates a bridge over the existing tower transferring the additional loads to vertical elements in the new facade. copyright photo: François Lichtlé. More info about the lecture in Antwerp: https://archipelvzw.be/en/agenda/732/de-grote-woonkorrel