COBE: EXPEMPLARY DANISH DESIGN in BRUSSELS

april 3, 2024

About Cobe

Cobe is an architecture office founded in 2006 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Cobe is devoted to creating extraordinary cities, landscapes ad buildings that immediately make a difference in the everyday and contribute to a future-proof urban life. We are rooted in the Scandinavian design tradition and work with all typologies and scales. From design objects, urban spaces, landscapes and buildings, including restoration, transformation and new build – to urban and strategic development plans for districts and cities.

About Lake Side B06 and B14

As part of the redevelopment of Tour and Taxis, Cobe has completed the design and planning application for two residential buildings within a larger masterplan for a new mixed-use community: B14 on 23 levels and B06, a mid-rise building on 6 levels. The project was designed within the framework of MVRDV’s masterplan and with the support of executive architect, Bureau Bouwtechniek.

B06

With its visibility from the Gare Maritime and adjacency to the South entry and the park, B06 is positioned as one of the unique corner buildings in the main residential zone, offering excellent panoramic views on the lakes, the courtyard, and Gare Maritime.

The building is conceived as a green, sustainable beacon in the masterplan – both as a mass timber building and through its green façade. Green terraces wrap the facade providing generous terraces, shade, and privacy.

The building contains 16 apartments with south-facing terraces, a green roof, resident bike parking, storage facilities, and a private lobby accessed from a lush inner courtyard. A timber hybrid system contributes both to reduced embodied energy and a healthier interior environment. The building envelope is comprised of prefabricated wood cassettes clad in glazed, reflective facade finishing. Apartment layouts maximize flexibility, daylighting and cross-ventilation through floor-to-ceiling windows and access to attractive amenity spaces from the inner courtyard.

B14

Situated along the northern entrance to the courtyard, B14 is a prominent building, as both a unique corner site and one of the most prominent buildings within the masterplan.

The volume, therefore has been designed to scale down, stepping in relation to the neighbouring buildings to enhance daylight access to the streetscape, mitigate downward wind flow, and provide a series of green terraces for residents. A distinctive, stepped podium volume creates a robust base for the tower, which helps to relate to the scale of the pedestrian and new public programs facing Drève Anna Bochlaan.

This eye-catcher offers 23 floors of housing with a total of 86 apartments. The ground floor includes public access and covered entrances to a multi-story space for public equipment, a large bike parking facility for residents, and a spacious and light-filled residential lobby.

The architectural design draws inspiration from the rich, ornamental Art Nouveau legacy of Brussels. Clad in concrete piers, the facade provides relief and visual depth to further enhance the verticality of the building. The concrete finish is warm beige in color to complement other buildings in the masterplan. Light colored window frames and guardrails complement the warmth of the concrete.

What are you particularly proud of – what would you consider your ‘stamp’?

The masterplan as developed by MVRDV calls for 15 unique designed buildings – together these individual buildings form a collective courtyard scheme. This means embracing and celebrating the cohesive diversity of the masterplan – finding out what design elements bind our 15 buildings together – and how do we make design solutions that are unique to our buildings. This has been our main design challenge balancing our architectural design between fitting in and standing out. Each of our projects clearly ‘clicks’ into the masterplan and relates to our neighbors. The designs of both buildings are unique to their size, their position in the courtyard, and in Lake Side.

Something about the collaboration with the other project members?

It has been very inspirational to work together with six other architectural firms to collectively create a complete masterplan – achieving cohesive diversity. Each design firm has brought their unique approach and methodology to the table. This has strengthened the design of the residential zone of Lake Side as a whole.

If you would have to describe lake Side in one or two sentences, what would that be?

The industrial heritage and legacy of Tours & Taxis past, present and future converge at Lake Side in a new sustainable community.