Belle Vue Brewery

Situated along the Brussels canal, the site of the former Belle Vue brewery forms a continuous façade which appears as an impenetrable fortification. The project aims to fluidify this entity through several breaks which create visual relations towards the heart of the urban block. The old malt-house will be renovated according to low-energy standards and will host the functions of a hotel training centre as well as “casco” spaces while the new passive building will host a training hotel and will close the complex, like an observation viewpoint.

In the middle of Brussels, close to the Brussels canal, you’ll find a building that combines centuries of history with innovation. What used to be beer brewery Belle Vue, is now a hotel and restaurant centre, of which Hotel Belvue, Belgium’s first fully passive hotel is a major part. Architect firm l’Escaut was responsible for the renovation, in which Rockpanel Ply was used as façade cladding.

Industrial hotel centre in Brussels
The development of the former Belle Vue Brewery in Brussels forms part of a sustainable urban regeneration project to rejuvenate the renowned but declining industrial site along the Brussels canal. Renovated according to low-energy standards, the former malt house contains diverse functions including a hotel school, hammam and restaurant. This is complemented by an adjoining new passive tower that accommodates 29 three-star hotel rooms. Other developments on the site include a youth-focused hotel and apartment block.

Creative architectural solutions
The architecture of the malt house renovation and corner tower responds to the challenges of the site and brief in a smart and sensitive way. The continuous facade of the brick brewery presented a closed barrier along the canal, with only limited openings.The new hospitality functions required more openness and light. To resolve this, the two middle sections of the facade and a part of the roof was cut out from front to back, breaking up the building mass and making it a lot lighter.

Industrial heritage preserved during renovation
The industrial heritage of the brewery was an important consideration in the new design. “The new building needed to engage in a dialogue with the past while having its own contemporary language,” explains Florence Hoffmann from l’Escaut. “We wanted a result that contrasted with the existing building without competing with it.” The six-storey hotel, built according to passive house standards, is placed at the tip of the site on a compact trapezoidal footprint. With its recognizable, light-coloured facade, it becomes a landmark for the area. Composed of a playful grid of window openings and Rockpanel board material, the lively facade beautifully reflects the site. The oversized grid, based on 600-mm-wide panels, recalls the modularity of the brick and stone canal walls.

Facade cladding in every possible colour tone
As facade cladding, Rockpanel Ply was chosen. This facade board only has a base primer and can be painted in any desired colour. Devised by artist Michel Leonardi, the colour scheme pairs subtle grey tones that relate to the 1960s concrete residential tower behind and accentuate the aged stonework along the canal, with vivid red accents for the balconies. Michel Leonardi explains: “The idea was also to create a ‘skin’ that changes subtly with natural light; it appears as white and should not be harsh given the orientation of the site. The choice of facade material proved wise: being able to ‘paint’ the panels allowed infinite nuances so that the colour perceptions vary constantly depending on the viewing angle and natural light.”

Alongside customization, Rockpanel board material contributes to achieving the project’s high sustainability ambitions. The project was recognised as a BatEx (Bâtiments Exemplaires) exemplary project for sustainable construction in 2011. Florence Hoffmann: “I like the matte aspect of ROCKPANEL which means the facade doesn’t look plastic or artificial. It’s also a cost-efficient and standardised product; our architecture often uses standards to reinterpret them, which allows us to create architecture that is sensitive to its unique context.”