LOOM: a unique green lung in the heart of the European district in Brussels
The Joseph 2 building has been in the Befimmo portfolio since 1995. In 2019 and 2020 Befimmo acquired the adjacent Loi 44 and Loi 52 buildings in order to allow a full redevelopment of the site and transform it into a green and open mixed-use project in the heart of the European district.
In June 2021, Befimmo extended the lease1 with the European Commission in the Joseph 2 building. Thanks to this prolongation, the expected issuance of the LOOM permit and the end of the lease in the Joseph 2 building should coincide perfectly.
LOOM will be an innovative mixed use project of about 24,000 m² combining working spaces, ±50 residential units, a full range of services and facilities and a beautiful courtyard garden. The project was designed by the architects DDS+ and B-ILD.
The projects is called LOOM after the verb ‘to loom’ which means ‘to appear in an impressively great way or form’ and nature looms within every corner of this project.
A meaningful contribution to the quality of the neighbourhood
LOOM arose from the desire to create an attractive working and living environment in heart of the European district, and to make a meaningful contribution to the quality of the neighbourhood. The architecture breaks with the density and traditionally enclosed building style in the area. LOOM provides significantly more open space, light and air, for users, residents and passers-by.
Both at the front and the back, LOOM has huge transparent glass windows that invite light into the large office spaces and provide a view on the showpiece of this project; a spacious courtyard garden.
Stimulating well-being, productivity and soft mobility
The ground floor will house attractive meeting areas, informal workspaces and shared facilities, such as a restaurant and coffee bar with a terrace. The courtyard garden, with trees and water features, will turn LOOM into a vehicle for biodiversity with a positive impact on the local microclimate.
We believe that in addition to the office spaces, these green spaces in which informal encounters can take place contribute greatly to the connectedness of the users, as well as significantly increasing everyone's sense of well-being and productivity.
The circular economy at work
In LOOM, Befimmo will apply its “4R” approach:
- • Reuse: maximize reuse of materials on site or in other projects;
- • Revive: improvement of the existing structure and its environment (natural ventilation to avoid overheating, passive architecture, water recuperation systems, integrated solar panels, geothermal drillings, etc.);
- • Recycle: when materials cannot be reused, ensure they are transformed for other applications;
- • Rethink: ecological design and use of materials – Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C2)
LOOM incorporates circular design criteria, such as:
- • maintaining as much of the existing structure as possible;
- • making an inventory of existing materials and technical installations with potential for reuse in the project or off-site
- • the creation of flexible and, to a certain extent, adaptable surfaces
- • the use of reversible components such as facades
- • the consideration of environmental impact in the choice of materials, in particular through life cycle analyses.
The level of circularity of the project will be assessed by an independent consultancy.
Befimmo is aiming to obtain:
- • a BREEAM3 “Outstanding” certification for the “Design” phase,
- • a DGNB4 certification with a least a score “GOLD” and
- • a WELL ready certification with a least a score “GOLD”.
The projected construction cost are estimated at €62 million, with the yield on total investment expected to be around 5%.
Picture subject to permit approval