VENUS / metamorphOse - collectif d'architectes / Wallonie-Bruxelles Architectures / Wallonie-Bruxelles Architectures

VENUS

About: The activity of the family planning center "Loving at the ULB" has been established since 1968 on the ULB website.
The multidisciplinary teams of the center (mainly gynecologists and psychologists) welcome, inform and accompany each one in the context of issues related to sexual and emotional life.
The project has two main objectives. First, it involves expanding the building by adding two levels on the roof to allow expansion of family planning activities in line with the increase in the number of university students. Secondly, it is a question of ensuring that buildings are brought back into line with current standards, both in terms of security and in terms of accessibility, while ensuring that architectural and technical elements that are not obsolete.
The volume of the extension respects the existing building according to its guidelines and inspired by its curves. By the choice of materials and the design of its volumetry, the project creates a double tension:
a contrast between the lightness of the wooden cladding and the massive character of the stone.
A mix of language where the softness of the curves contrasts with the edges of the lines.
These dualities give rise to an echo between the old and the new, harmoniously inscribing the whole building in a context that is both urban and landscape, while assuming the contemporary character of the new part.
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