The Urban Architecture Studio intervenes in medium sized urban sites and works within the existing urban environment. It reads a situation and focuses on the building in relation to the existing context. During the year, design and research went hand in hand.

The project is situated at the Friche Josaphat in Brussels. It is not only an architectural project but also an exploration of how sequences in space can evoke emotions and foster connections. I examined urban spaces that have evolved over time, exploring how their sequential arrangement contributes to their livability. I extended this research by studying how sequences are used in other art disciplines, such as music, dance, film, and animation.

In the researched art disciplines, anticipation and suspense are often created to evoke a certain feeling in the spectator. Through this research, I wanted to explore how this could be translated into architecture. This resulted in the choreography of a new sequence of spaces, composed of the features I identified in the different sites analysed, as well as the findings on the creation of anticipation and suspense in other art disciplines.

This choreography ultimately resulted in the composition of a sequence of spaces the my design, which consists of a connecting street, a small public square, a front square, an entrance with a sightline, a garden on the hill and the Friche.

The programme comprises a homeless shelter for short-term accommodation, offering a solution until a more permanent one can be found. It provides private rooms and four-person dormitories, as well as collective functions and a public launderette. Another building is the assisted living building, which includes a restaurant and a bakery on the ground floor. The upper floors house studios and small apartments. The third building is a gardening pavilion that houses a farm and workshop programme. This programme enables individuals to regain trust in themselves and their environment through gardening and farming activities. The two elements that bind the building ensemble together are a flower kiosk on the front square and a viewing tower on the Friche.