Located on the Luxembourg-France border, the Belval building is a collaborative office development that responds to the rich industrial heritage of Belval, revitalising the area by making a positive contribution to the site and its surroundings. The scheme relates sympathetically to its neighbouring buildings and addresses the different characteristics of the principal axis of Porte de France on its eastern end and the Place de l’Académie to the west, while creating a green light-filled atrium that forms the social and environmental heart of the building.
The historic and hugely symbolic Belval blast furnace forms the central focus of the dramatic vista from the atrium, forming a unique environment with a distinct sense of place and location. The building is arranged as two wings which enclose the central atrium. The entire volume is wrapped by a distinctive orthogonal façade and roof which emphasises the efficient structural grid and gives the building a unified industrial look. The entrances are recessed at both ends, with the façade across the entrances articulated differently in response to the urban street and civic plaza.
The building edge along Porte de France contains shops, while Place de l’Académie is complemented by cafés and restaurants on the ground floor. The fluidity of the internal spaces contrasts with the building’s dignified formal exterior. The atrium resolves the level changes between the street and the plaza through a series of stepped terraces that create a spectacular arrival sequence. The expressed circulation along the internal edges of the atrium adds to the vibrancy of the internal spaces, with communal terraces.
The façade offers glimpses of the interior greens spaces through a series of punched volumes that intersect the gridded structure at key points. The façade is both structural and environmentally responsive, providing an integrated solution which allows for internal column-free office spaces as well as solar shading and maximised internal daylight. Source by Foster + Partners.
- Location: Belval, Luxembourg
- Architect: Foster + Partners
- Project Team: Spencer de Grey. David Nelson, Stefan Behling, Darron Haylock, Matthew Hayhurst, Joana Santos, Dimitris Themelis, Apostolos Despotidis, Samson Simberg, Gavin Fung, Mohamad El Khayat, Anna Maria Malla
- Collaborating Architect: Beiler François Fritsch
- Structural Engineers: NEY
- Mechanical Engineers: Greisch Luxembourg
- Cost Consultant: Q-Build Luxembourg
- Masterplan Landscaping: MDP
- Lighting Consultant: Greisch Luxembourg
- Acoustic Consultant: Tom Vandervorst, Venac
- Contractor: Wust / Lux TP
- Client: BESIX RED Luxembourg
- Site Area: 5,500 m2
- Gross Area: 18,900 m2
- Net internal area: 13,000 m2
- Year: 2018
- Expected Completion date: 2021
- Images: Courtesy of Foster + Partners