Masui 186

Project: Masui 186
Architect: Vanden Eeckhoudt - Creyf architectes

Programme: Conversion and redevelopment of a former warehouse and street building into a new paving and horticulture training centre

About: Project Description
The project involves the conversion of a former industrial warehouse and a residential building into a new training center.
It is located on a through-plot at 186 Rue Masui, in an area of significant functional mix, serving as a link between this street and the Senne Park. A former apartment building, well-integrated into its context, stands at the front of the plot, while a warehouse extends at the rear, adapting to the surrounding low-rise industrial typologies.
The project entails the change of use of both the residential building and the warehouse, originally intended for artisanal activities, into a facility dedicated to training and professional integration. The objective is to reorganize the premises to integrate a training center within the site. This public collective facility consists of two major functions: a professional transition program and a training center.
The first function, represented by SAE Asbl, is housed in the front building, where offices, classrooms, and meeting rooms are arranged. The second, managed by JST Asbl, is located in the warehouse and includes offices, a cafeteria, a workshop for practical training, and storage areas.
Design Intentions
The project approach is based on a global reflection on the reuse and enhancement of the existing structures. Although the building does not possess significant heritage value (except for the warehouse’s roof structure), the design strategy prioritizes preserving as much of the existing fabric as possible, creating a contrast between the original elements and the new interventions.
This results in an eclectic yet coherent composition that brings both quality and cost efficiency to the project.
In the front building, the most visible intervention is the addition of a canopy bearing the project’s name on the street-facing facade. This creates a distinctive urban signal, providing a stronger identity to the building and clearly marking it as a public facility, in contrast to its original residential function.
Accessibility has been reconsidered by utilizing the existing garage doors to create two separate access routes: one for pedestrians and cyclists, and another for vehicles, ensuring safety for all users. At the junction of these two access routes, an external vertical circulation element has been added at the rear of the building, providing accessible access to the upper floors for people with reduced mobility.
Inside the front building, most functions are arranged within the existing spaces, with targeted interventions to reconfigure and structure them around both the existing internal circulation and the newly added external circulation. The building has been stripped of its former domestic installations, exposing its concrete structure, which is now left visible. This choice contributes to a substantial reduction in material consumption, aligns with a sustainable approach, and gives the building a distinctive identity.
A maximum number of materials have been either retained or dismantled for reuse. From the beginning of the construction phase, an on-site “materials store” was established to inventory and manage salvaged materials, such as terrace coverings, bricks, insulation, doors, and flooring. Demolition debris was repurposed as backfill material.
The majority of interventions are concentrated in the warehouse at the rear of the site to accommodate the training center. The interior volume has been stripped down, and new functions—including offices for supervisors, a manual workshop, storage spaces, locker rooms, and a cafeteria—are arranged around a central axis, an internal street.
This axis physically and visually connects the front and rear parts of the site, while also serving as a circulation space distributing access to all functions within the warehouse. At the end of this internal street, an opening in the rear facade and roof of the warehouse creates a green patio, bringing natural light, ventilation, and a visual connection to Senne Park. Initially, the rear wall was entirely blind, preventing any interaction with the park. This new opening not only allows users to enjoy views of the greenery but also makes the training center visible from the park, fostering social interaction.
Like an urban layout, the new internal functions are housed within independent built volumes inside the warehouse. These “boxes within a box” adopt an architectural vocabulary reminiscent of industrial heritage, with varied roof forms that engage with the warehouse’s structural framework. The facades of these internal structures align at the same height, establishing a clear horizon line and perspective. Openings in the new roofs bring natural light into the interior spaces while also revealing the original structure of the warehouse—a valuable testament to past industrial architecture.
Materials & Sustainability
Reflecting the approach of responding to existing heritage while asserting contemporary additions, the choice of materials allows the new constructions to stand out while harmonizing with the existing structure. This is achieved with a constant focus on reuse and sustainability.
The new structures at the rear are built using lightweight mixed construction systems, combining a load-bearing steel frame with insulated timber framing. These structures are designed to be demountable, facilitating material separation and recycling at the end of their lifespan.
The materials used for the new interventions maintain consistency and chromatic harmony. The external facades of the new volumes in the warehouse are composed of exposed gray concrete blocks, installed as cladding over an insulated timber framework. The new roofs are finished with ribbed aluminum-coated steel sheets. Internally, the same exposed concrete blocks are used up to door height, except in the cafeteria and offices, where light-colored plywood panels are installed up to window height. Leaving the concrete blocks exposed reduces finishing costs while enhancing the aesthetic quality of standard materials through thoughtful application.
Additionally, natural-colored wood fiber panels cover the space above door and window heights and fully envelop the warehouse’s structural framework. Beyond its aesthetic, economic, and ecological benefits, this treatment significantly improves the acoustic comfort of the spaces where it is applied. (The ceilings on the second floor of the front building have also been finished with this material.) Doors and window frames are made of certified natural wood, ensuring consistency with the other material choices. Railings and grilles throughout the project are made of galvanized expanded metal mesh, offering both transparency and lightness while maintaining the necessary physical barriers for safety.
Roofs and partitions are insulated with blown cellulose, an ecological material derived from recycled paper. A rainwater cistern has been installed in the basement to collect and reuse water for the building’s needs. Additionally, a section of the flat roof at the rear will be drained toward Senne Park in agreement with IBGE, which requested the collection of runoff from adjacent roofs.
In the same sustainability-driven approach, photovoltaic solar panels have been installed on the front slope of the main building’s roof to contribute to the building’s electricity production—an especially relevant feature, as the rear section is heated via a heat pump located on the roof.
The entire project is characterized by interventions that are both integrated and assertive—sometimes subtle, sometimes more pronounced—ensuring that the new training center is seamlessly embedded within its context. This integration follows a logic of maximum reuse and adaptation to the existing structures.
From the project’s inception, a collaborative approach was taken with future users, incorporating their expertise into the construction process. For example, the green patio will be landscaped by trainees in horticulture, and part of the interior furniture will be crafted by carpentry apprentices. The integration of people undergoing professional reintegration is a crucial aspect of the project. The social and participatory dimension has been present throughout every phase and continues to shape the project today.
Finally, this project is being carried out as part of the Reine-Progrès Sustainable Neighborhood Contract, which involves ongoing community engagement with the local residents.