XDGA - Xaveer De Geyter Architects

XDGA is a Brussels and Paris-based office practicing architecture, urbanism and landscape design founded in 1988 by Xaveer De Geyter (°1957) after his experience at OMA/Rem Koolhaas.

Since then, XDGA has managed to build up a significant portfolio and obtain worldwide recognition thanks to its radical approach, diversified expertise and international team.

XDGA counts to this day 5 monographs, numerous awards (Mies Van der Rohe Award, Bigmat Award, Flemish Culture Award for Architecture) and 3 travelling solo exhibitions.

Statement

Ideally architecture is not about fixing activities, fluxes or programs, or worse, about solving spatial problems. On the contrary, it is about opening up possibilities: the potential of a site, the hidden opportunity of a particular situation in time, of a programmatic conflict. It is about dealing with uncertainty, about enabling different and unforeseen scenarios. In that sense architecture and urbanism are not opposed disciplines with different outcomes, but similar mediators, on different scales and in different degrees of complexity, with the same goal of enabling life.

The basis for architecture in our way of working is to carry out a meticulous scanning of a brief, a program or a context. Context not just as that what physically surrounds a project, but the larger field of social, economic, political, administrative and also technical issues, all on an equal level. This activity of accurate and systematic reading leads to a matrix of knowledge that frames any architectural decision. Sometimes this framework functions as a backdrop for postponed intuitions, sometimes it forms the battlefield for a bombardment of architectural proposals that slowly gain self-evidence through a process of trial and error. The scanning raises new questions, opens up unexplored fields, reveals hidden opportunities, or brings together so-called incompatibilities. Through this working method all projects are rooted in their context, but as context has a visible and a hidden part, they often surpass their physical context and they sometimes completely transform it.

This explorative approach leads to a working method, not a style. Instead, style is restrictive to exploration. Our approach saves us from dogmatic thinking, from an all too narrow agenda, from the architectural one-liner.

Doug Allard, David Ampe, Vincent Blactot, Tom Bonnevalle, Maud Bouhin, Lionel Bousquet, Jérémie Brault, Karel Bruyland, Rémy Carat, Elena Caruso, Antoine Chaudemanche, Pieter Coelis, Beatrice Colaiacomo, Johan Cool, Catherine Cornu, Elisabeth d' Aubarède, Xaveer De Geyter, Joris De Greef, Thaïs De Roquemaurel, Chloé De Salins, Jacqueline De Souza Luduvice, Pieter De Walsche, Marie Debraine, Hanne Defloor, Nathalie Devoghelaere, Nicolas Duerinck, Nenad Duric, Eleonor Ferragu, Sandra Fol, Annelotte Herrebosch, Ines Hirwa, Yasmine Houari, Ingrid Huyghe, Maxime Jaume, Ménélik Jobert, Karla Kovacevic, Paul-Emmanuel Lambert, Solène Le Gallo, Jonathan Robert Maj, Leo Mazurek, Philip Niekamp, Emilia Ockerman, Federico Pedrini, Camelia Petre, Ada Petrela, Julien Picard, Anne-Sophie Rouillère, Dana Smetankova, Yuichiro Suzuki, Foucault Tiberghien, Willem Van Besien, Wouter Van Daele, Catherine Van Driessche, Marie-Pierre Vandeputte, Lode Vanderbeek, Simon Vellut, Samia Wahbi, Misa Yonezawa, Ulysse Zehnlé, Rui Zenha, Ujzë Zhuri.

2015

GA_160_EXPO, Galerie Jaroslava Fragnera, Prague, Czech Republic.
XDGA_160_EXPO, Casa dell’Architettura, Rome, Italy.

2014

XDGA_160_EXPO, Eesti Arhitektuurimuuseumis, Tallinn, Estonia.

2013

XDGA_160_EXPO, CIVA, Brussels, Belgium.

2006

Le Parc De Richelieu, Arc en Rêve centre d’architecture, Bordeaux, France.

2002

AFTER-SPRAWL, deSingel International Art Center, Antwerp, Belgium.

2001

Xaveer De Geyter Architecten, 12 Projects, deSingel International Art Center, Antwerp, Belgium.

2020

Xaveer De Geyter Architects 2005-2020, El Croquis 204, Madrid, Spain.

2013

XDGA_161_BOOK, Lannoo Publishers, Tielt, Belgium.

2002

Xaveer De Geyter Architects 1992-2005, El Croquis 126, Madrid, Spain.

2001

After-sprawl, Research for the Contemporary City, NAi Uitgevers, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

2001

Xaveer De Geyter Architects, 12 PROJECTS, Ludion, Belgium.

2021

Brussels Architecture Prize, category winner 'Extra Muros', for Melopee School, Ghent, Belgium
Bigmat Award, Grand International Prize, for Melopee School, Ghent, Belgium
Belgian Prize for Architecture, category winner, for Melopee School, Ghent, Belgium

2014

Flemish Culture Award for Architecture

2013

Bigmat Award, Grand International Prize, for Kitchen Tower, Brussels, Belgium
Belgian Prize for Architecture, category winner, for Kitchen Tower, Brussels, Belgium

2005

Académie d’architecture, France, prix de l’urbanisme, for Îlot Saint Maurice urban plan, Lille, France

2003

Mies van der Rohe award, finalist, for the Chasse Park Apartments, Breda, The Netherlands

1993

Architecture prize from the Province of Antwerp, for the House near Antwerp, Belgium
Charles Wilford Prize, category realizations, for a House with Workshop near Ghent, Belgium: first prize; for a House near Antwerp, Belgium: second prize

1992

Charles Wilford Prize, category projects, for House near Antwerp, Belgium: first prize

XDGA Brussels

48 Quai Du Commerce / Handelskaai
B–1000 Brussels
+32 (0)2 218 88 86
info@xdga.be

XDGA Paris

18 Rue Du Faubourg Du Temple
FR–75011 Paris
+33 (0)1 58 30 99 61
info@xdga.be

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Design by Joris Kritis
Development by Variable

Jobs

Please send a digital version of your résumé, portfolio and motivation letter as a single PDF (smaller than 8MB) to jobs@xdga.be

Press inquiries

info@xdga.be

Administration

info@xdga.be

Invoice details

XDGA B.V.
48 Quai Du Commerce / Handelskaai
B–1000 Brussels
TVA: BE 0461 324 179

XDGA B.V.
18 Rue Du Faubourg Du Temple
FR–75011 Paris
TVA: FR 85 537623 365

N°
*
Selected projects
Location
Type
Procedure
Status
Year
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329

Prague Airport
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Prague

Infrastructure

Competition

Competition

2023

25.000

Vaclav Havel Airport is undertaking an impressive development of its terminal facilities which will improve its operationality while asserting its identity, urban qualities, and sustainable ambitions. The project must be a new icon for the airport but also the city of Prague, as the airport is often a city’s first impression. This is amplified by the singular location of the two plots that form an entrance gate. Our aim is to propose simple geometries that integrate themselves in the larger system of the ongoing airport development plan, and to clarify a complex situation in terms of fluxes, technical installations, and security zoning through the introduction of two strong figures capable of coping with the existing technological surroundings.
The check-in hall takes the shape of a compact, elevated building characterized by striking, triangular columns whose shapes ensure the horizontal stability of the structure. The columns are the only load-bearing elements as the circulation cores and technical shafts are placed inside patios, in order to provide maximum flexibility and layout adaptability over time. Its deep plan is punctuated by patios, that allow for light to pierce through the building.
For the multifunctional building, we propose a unified stepped volume in which the three programs (hotel, congress, parking) form an architectural ensemble reacting to its environment specificities. Along the
Aviatická street side (the main car access to the airport) the building is sculpted into a stepped volume which creates 4 digital facades allowing for a kinetic experience for the visitors arriving by car at the airport. Along the skywalk façade and facing the future pedestrian axis, the program is articulated in order to link the two ground floor levels. On the ground floor, the lobby of the hotel activates the public space while a patio on +3 connects to the ‘passerelle’ leading to the skywalk.

Location
Prague
Type
Infrastructure
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2023
Size (m²)
25.000

Client
Prague Airport
Architect
XDGA
Xaveer De Geyter, Chloé de Salins, Nathalie Devoghelaere, Eva Hoffman, Julien Picard, Misa Yonezawa
Consultant
Bollinger & Grohmann (structure, techniques)
Images
ailleurs.studio
328

Euro Stadium
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Vlora

Urban

Competition, 1st Prize

Ongoing

2023–

165.500

The strategy for the new Flamurtari sports complex is to imagine the future of the complex as a new piece of the city, allowing it to integrate coherently with its nearby context and to influence its development over time.
Integrating new shops, offices and housing with the sports vocation of the site, we imagine sport and its equipment as the possibility of a new city. Respecting the history of the site, the project imagines preserving the current situation of the stadium while creating around it a new mixed urban district, offering new proximities between sport, city and landscape.
The site is organized in three sequences.
From West to East, three urbanization sectors take place: first a commercial strip with a wide open first floor creating a majestic entrance to the stadium, then a tertiary strip composed of four new buildings creating views on the territory and finally a thin housing strip taking place between the landscape and the sports facilities.
Between these three new construction bands is the new stadium on the west side, the training stadium on the east side and new sports facilities open to the public. This organization in sequence makes it possible to concentrate all of the urban development in the heart of the site and to create a large-scale landscaped public space around it. This public space allows the new urban stadium to be addressed at 360 degrees from all the streets, inside the site, it becomes, depending on the situation, a road, a park or a square.
The majority of the urbanization is concentrated in a rectangle, this one is constituted in its contour of the continuous footbridge addressing the whole site as well as the rehabilitated swimming pool. This covered and continuous walkway is then located between the new sports complex and its landscaped contour, sometimes it extends to the adjacent streets to address new constructions in the contours of the site when possible.
The gymnasium is also connected to the rest of the stadium via the footbridge, its rehabilitation may also include new public sports fields at the intersection of Sadik Zotaj Street and Pelivan Leskaj Street.
Finally, the organization of the sector in strips allows the integration of the existing buildings into the project by allowing them a new access from the heart of the block and new views on the sports complex.

Location
Vlora
Type
Urban
Procedure
Competition, 1st Prize
Status
Ongoing
Year
2023–
Size (m²)
165.500

Client
National Territorial Planning Agency (NTPA)
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Pieter Coelis, Marie Debraine, Maxime Jaume, Philip Niekamp, Camelia Petre, Julien Picard, Misa Yonezawa
Consultants
CMA (local architect)
Jeshile (landscape)
Bollinger + Grohmann (structure)
Ledia Kostandini (artistic intervention)
Photos
Maxime Delvaux
316

Kanal Bookshop
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Brussels

Cultural

Competition

Competition

2023

443

“Le Musée Vivant de la Lecture et de la Parole”, in reference to Henri Storck’s pioneer documentary (1965), is the name of the proposal for CIVA’s bookshop and reading room in the Kanal-Centre Pompidou.
Designed as a free-plan, the project defines a non-hierarchical series of sub-spaces that differ in size and characteristics; these are delimited by flexible light architectural devices such as curtains and shelving systems that allow for various spatial configurations, activities and users.
Additionally, certain elements pertaining to the domestic vocabulary are integrated into the project, in order to make the space inviting and welcoming: carpets, curtains, felt cushions, etc. The use of textiles, besides stimulating the senses, also covers a technical role as it improves acoustics and diversifies surface temperatures.
The selected seating responds to the desire to include various morphologies; this atlas is entirely composed of chairs designed by female designers and architects with the ambition to make their work visible.

Location
Brussels
Type
Cultural
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2023
Size (m²)
443

Client
Fondation Kanal
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Marie Debraine, Chloé de Salins, Nomundari Munkhbaatar, Marie-Pierre Vandeputte, Ujzë Zhuri
Consultants
l’Architecture qui Dégenre (support for gender equality and diversity)
Gilles Collard (philosopher, writer)
313

*

HfG School of Arts
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Offenbach am Main

Education

Competition, 1st Prize

Ongoing

2022–

14.300

Located on the river banks of the Rhine-Main, the volume of the HfG campus is defined by a series of subtractions : a 190 m x 27m green courtyard stitching the two plots together, a green axis defined by urban regulations, an area designated for future development, as well a series of smaller cut-outs perforating the facades of the two four-story buildings. This remarkable scale pays tribute to that of the surrounding industrial fabric, together with the factory-like atmosphere conferred to these spaces for creation, reflection, mediation, and discourse.
All the HfG activities are organized on the first two floors, around a 4.50 m wide gallery looping around the campus, which is conceived as a small city contained within a building.
This inner street organises and provides access to all the different clusters, while being generously dimensioned to accommodate an extension of the north-facing workshops.
The gallery furthermore works as a thermal buffer zone between inside and outside on the opposite south-facing façade, where it becomes rather transparent and acts as the school’s showcase for the passers-by. Finally, towards the east, it bridges the gap between the two wings of the building and becomes both a student exhibition space, and an interface for future expansion.
A supplementary set of voids, of a much more domestic scale, are ultimately spread throughout the campus : the main entrance stairs, the stepping atriums, the terraces, and the patios. Albeit different, all of these spaces allow for vertical connections within the project and belong to the larger strategy of building by means of negative space.

Location
Offenbach am Main
Type
Education
Procedure
Competition, 1st Prize
Status
Ongoing
Year
2022–
Size (m²)
14.300

Client
HFG of Main
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects),
For XDGA : Xaveer De Geyter, Doug Allard, Vincent Blactot, Chloé De Salins, Yasmine Houari, Nomundari Munkhbaatar, Philip Niekamp, Ulysse Zenhlé
Consultants
Topotek 1 (architecture, landscape)
Bollinger+Grohmann (structure)
Transsolar (environnement)
Frame (images)
312

Schulcampus Ingolstadt Friedrichshofen
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Ingolstadt

Education

Competition

Competition

2022

14.400

The campus ensemble created at the Ingolstadt Friedrichshofen site is constituted by two new school buildings (a middle school and a specialized school) harmoniously inserted into the surrounding landscape.
The plots, organised following a linear subdivision in the north-south direction, each feature a sports field and a courtyard in close relation to the school building.
The mirrored arrangement of this spatial sequence on the two sites creates a balanced composition, while the enclosed perimeter structures the buildings’ facades, creates inside-outside continuity and finally helps in defining the leftover organic, park-like green space.

Location
Ingolstadt
Type
Education
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2022
Size (m²)
14.400

Client
City of Ingolstadt and District of Upper Bavaria
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects), Topotek Architects
for XDGA: Xaveer De Geyter, Marie Debraine, Chloé de Salins, Nomundari Munkhbataar, Julien Picard, Anne-Sophie Rouillère, Dana Smetankova
Consultants
Topotek Landscape (landscape)
Bollinger & Grohmann (structure)
308

Starlette
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Strasbourg

Education

Competition

Competition

2022

5.470

The site of the future school group in the Starlette district is located in a strip, between the Bassin Vauban and the Parc du Petit Rhin. The project is consistent with the ambitions of the urban project management group, by formulating a response that strengthens the resilience of this piece of the city.
The different entities that make up the future Starlette school group each participate in the activation of the surrounding public spaces through the creation of a series of autonomous, targeted entrances.
The structure of the paths that defines the Starlette district is strictly respected, by proposing to give back a width of twelve meters to the public domain and thus transform the simple visual breakthrough into a real public garden path.
A refined volumetry makes the project exist in the urban sequence, opens up a new visual breakthrough between the park and the Citadelle district and limits nuisances within Area.
The architectural language, as well as the landscape, is inspired by the port history of the site, and consistent with the natural conditions of the territory and its ecological imperatives.
Alongside suitability, the proposal reinvestigates the archetype of the school building founded on two major axes.
The first axis calls for a balanced relationship between the children and living; the project multiplies the natural and infiltrating surfaces, the sustained presence of plants is a prerequisite for a rich biodiversity thanks to the enhancement of solar gain, rainwater and prevailing winds.
The second axis aims at the sobriety of the techniques used, as much by the mixed wood-concrete structure and the programmatic resilience of the constructive choices as by its low-tech facade devices and the installation of low-emission heating and cooling systems.
Our project brings together each of the functional entities facilitating the journey of children, teachers, staff and the public. It is structured around two self-sufficient programmatic loops. The nursery loop located on the ground floor offers access to the first cycle, their dining room and extracurricular areas. The elementary loop begins opposite the Quai Vauban and unfolds in three dimensions linking the classes of level 2 and level 3 to the courtyard and shared functions.
The proposal for the Starlette school group ultimately tries to balance these instances as accurately as possible.

Location
Strasbourg
Type
Education
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2022
Size (m²)
5.470

Client
SPL Deux-Rives
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Vincent Blactot, Rémy Carat, Antoine Chaudemanche, Marie Debraine, Léo Mazurek, Damian Wnuk
Consultants
Bollinger + Grohmann (structure)
C2BI (economy)
Solares Bauen (mechanics, environment)
Euro Sound Project-DB Silence (acoustics)
ES Services Energetiques (restauration)
Justine Miething (landscape)
303

ENSAPC
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Cergy

Education

Competition

Competition

2022

6.287

A shelter, a Kiosk for the Arts.
On the ground, the project consists of a floor that acts as a plinth, defined by two distinct access levels that follow the topography of the site as closely as possible. The roof of this base is an esplanade, and just as a kiosk within a park, it is a space made available to the occupants and visible to all.
The major functions of the school are installed in three separate volumes that support the workshop canopy and overlook the esplanade, without obstructing the views to the outside.
The volume collecting the library is the most vertical: a succession of mezzanines revolve around the reception desk.
The administration is held in the most elongated volume, as the plan consists of a central corridor serving the offices and meeting rooms.
The third volume is larger, more transparent and it brings together the public programs (restaurant, exhibition, dance, amphitheatre), which communicate by a monumental staircase situated towards the entrance and the park.
Finally, in the canopy, the workshops are arranged around an 8m high circulation element that offers views towards the esplanade, the park, the city and the sky.
Each workshop features both windows and indirect overhead light, which allow for the natural light influx to be fully controlled.

Location
Cergy
Type
Education
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2022
Size (m²)
6.287

Client
Cergy-Pontoise
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Antoine Chaudemanche, Elisabeth D’Aubarède, Joris De Greef, Ari Gruijters, Ménélik Jobert, Jonathan Robert Maj, Philip Niekamp, Yuichiro Suzuki
Consultants
Bollinger & Grohmann (structure)
Ygrec (techniques, environment, economy)
Michel Desvigne Paysagiste (landscape)
Images
ArtefactoryLab
302

Annecy
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Annecy

Urban

Study

Completed

2022–2022

150.000

This project for the City of Annecy investigates the hypothesis according to which landscape can be a vector of convergence on a large scale. Within the context of a sustained growth of the population and economic needs on the one hand, and the amplification of environmental and climatic issues on the other hand, a framework of "magnets" is developed. These structuring landscape entities that cross the city from the shores of Lake Fier to the hills, polarize the growth and the future organization of this Alpine city. These frameworks agglomerate around them public programs, shared habitats and new production sites. They structure mobility, organize energy transfers and materialize places for socialization more suited to contemporary needs.
This hypothesis of convergence of issues around a collective landscape is inseparable from the construction of partnerships between various actors in the territory. Specifically, the vision is built in dialogue with the local authorities and a selection of players in the territory throughout the competitive dialogue phase. The second phase of the project ultimately involves a series of workshops aiming at clarifying the strategy and creating engagement around potential pilot projects.

Location
Annecy
Type
Urban
Procedure
Study
Status
Completed
Year
2022–2022
Size (m²)
150.000

Client
Ville d’Annecy
Architect
XDGA, Michel Desvigne Paysagiste (landscape)
For XDGA : Maud Bouhin, Rémy Carat, Antoine Chaudemanche, Thaïs de Roquemaurel, Chloé de Salins, Nicolas Duerinck, Eleonor Ferragu, Arie Gruijters, Philip Niekamp, Camelia Petre, Samia Wahbi
Consultants
Ville Ouverte (participation)
CVA-Dominique Boudet (strategy)
Egis (mobility, environment, development)
301

Flag Square and Regional Development Centre
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Vlora

Urban

Commission

Under construction

2019–

66.500

Located in the historical heart of the city the Flag Square is no longer adapted to its current use and traffic situation. The project for the public space imagines a complete restructuring of the space, introducing a more human scale and better defined spaces. The existing structure earmarked to become the Regional Development Centre speaks of a long and difficult relation between the site and the surrounding city. At an overall length of over 150 meters and a height of more than 65m the existing structure is itself of an almost ‘urban’ scale, a ‘super’structure that has the potential to house a big amount of programs, functions and architectures. The site and building have to deal with a remarkable dichotomy of scales and urbanity between the north-eastern and south-western context. On the north and especially the east the project faces the fine, small-scale historic tissue of the recently renovated old city. On the western side the building faces a much larger scaled context, loaded with symbolic landmarks of national importance. The scale is defined by the main Flag Square, the large public park and the large ‘Boulevard’ avenue. The building project employs two main tools, inspired more on urban design than architecture. The first tool is the creation of two open and public galleries that cut through the superstructure from east to west. These galleries reduce the perceived scale of the massive structure and allow for a previously lacking porosity through the ground floor. The second urban tool that defines the architecture of the building is the creation of a ‘vertical’ public street, reaching from the public ground floor, over the roof garden all the way up to the panoramic bar at the top of the sculptural tower volume. As the main public thoroughfare of the building, it is the place where the front doors of the different program components will address themselves to. This exterior semi-public vertical street serves many functions. It is the negative space that transforms the building into a sculpture, it forms the terrace and balcony space for the programs inside the building, it will serve as a main public circulation though the structure – dimensioned for large masses moving up and down – but mainly it serves as a connector, a link between the old and new, heritage and innovation, between the artisans and the young coders, linking people as well as the city and the superstructure.

Location
Vlora
Type
Urban
Procedure
Commission
Status
Under construction
Year
2019–
Size (m²)
66.500

Client
Albanian Development Fund (ADF)
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Pieter Coelis, with Karla Kovacevic, Jonathan Robert Maj, Rui Zehna
Consultants
iRI sh.p.k. (engineering), Jeshile sh.p.k. (landscape)
298

Ministry of Finances Berlin
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Berlin

Civic

Competition

Competition

2021

71.600

The starting point of the new project is to optimize and centralize the Federal Ministry of Finance into a single location in the Post Block area of Berlin. The site context is complex, consisting of an urban historical residue following the end of the war, and made of a series of individual lots and building types re-inhabited over the last 70 years. Our particular plot is situated between two buildings used by the Ministry of Finance: the Post block building in direct relation to the site, and the Detlev-Rohwedder-Hause, which sits opposite the site, across the Wilhelmstraße. The basis of the main volume is a direct response to the urban context and the desire to fill the void with a strong form inspired by the qualities of the neighboring building typologies.
An overall structure of three internal Courtyards and eight Windows organize the project. The window’s function is to penetrate the mass and create a strong relationship with the surrounding and the urban context. Some of the windows become courtyards while others are set back and give direct light into the main interior spaces. Some have a direct relation with the green zone created on the east side of the site.
At the ground floor level, the large horizontal openings intersect each other and the vertical courtyards to maximize transparency at the pedestrian level and to create views through the building linking the street to the private landscapes in the interior of the block. The cuts leave behind eight solid “feet” to accommodate the dark program: cores for vertical circulation with stairs, elevators, and technical shafts. The top level is a secured zone reserved for the management and the minister of finance, conceived as a roof pavilion surrounded by greenery.
The compact main volume and organization of the project on the site is oriented in such a way that it reserves space towards the inside of the block for a “backyard” of substantial green space. Three extensions make connections between the new form and the neighboring context. The “backyard” is terminated by the largest of the connections containing mostly a housing program for the academic wing of the BMF, closing the northern facade of the block. The green strip offers a new relationship between the existing Post block building, its courtyard, and the General Postgarten with the historical tree, a protected natural monument. The intermediate space acts as the social green area for the project—it forms a sequence of backyards, gardens, and roofscapes that extend the quality outdoor space beyond the site boundary. The employees of the BMF will benefit from the close proximity to quality and spacious outdoor green spaces, as well as being in the immediate vicinity of the private gardens in the green façade.

Location
Berlin
Type
Civic
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2021
Size (m²)
71.600

Client
Ministry of Finance
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Johan Cool, Marie Debraine, Nathalie Devoghelaere, Philip Niekamp
Consultants
Bollinger+Grohmann (structure, fire)
Boydens / Sweco (mechanics)
Photos
Maxime Delvaux
297

BSR
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Berlin

Commercial

Competition

Competition

2021

55.000

Triangle - Circle – Square: three pure forms with a town square.
Our urban design approach is to introduce the "BSR Plaza", a public space at the centre of the project site. Opening up the site will create a vibrant and accessible public space, adjacent to Hildegard Knef Square, which is dominated by motorized vehicles. The BSR Square is an isosceles triangle in plan. One side is open along its entire length to Wilhelm-Kabus-Strasse, clearly forming the focal point of the project, while the other two sides of the triangle are defined by buildings. The BSR plaza not only provides a clear address for each building - the main entrances are on the plaza and the semi-public facilities face the plaza - but also provides a passageway to the apartments behind.

Location
Berlin
Type
Commercial
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2021
Size (m²)
55.000

Client
BSR Südkreuz Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Elisabeth d'Aubarède, Arie Gruijters, Ménélik Jobert, Karla Kovacevic, Léo Mazurek, Philip Niekamp, Yuichiro Suzuki
Consultants
Bollinger + Grohmann (structure, mechanics)
295

*

Ministry of Finances Düsseldorf
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Düsseldorf

Civic

Competition

Competition

2021

79.000

Located in the heart of the government district, the site is situated at the intersection of two differently-oriented parts of the city. The design primarily aims to mediate between these two different environments by addressing both, yet at the same time giving the site a clear identity. The two buildings are conceived as two similar, compact structures, but they identify their own specific relationships to the base and the city. The atrium building, a low structure punctuated by large openings facing Harold Street, sits directly on top of the base, establishing an immediate connection with its first floor surroundings. The high-rise, on the other hand, supported by its own core, presents itself as a floating lighthouse. The tension between these two orthogonal building volumes also provides unexpected perspectives on the city, achieved through large open windows with gardens. The purpose of raising this building is twofold: to create a new landmark, and to free up space above the base to make it publicly accessible and fully open to daylight.
The plinth is the direct translation of a natural landscape into a new building form that allows the programmatic organization of the shared and special services, the publicly accessible catering area, the conference rooms, and the library. The main entrance is situated central in between the 2 buildings as the extension of “Green Harold’s Bay”. Through a wide gate, the central patio in the plinth is reached, where the main entrances to the FM Building (high-rise) and the 2nd and 3rd users building (Atrium building) are situated. The tower features two special outdoor spaces: a large loggia (a window facing the Rhine) and a sheltered, lushly landscaped roof terrace. Users of the atrium building benefit from intersecting voids: a vertical shaft that terminates at the ground floor entrance atrium, and two large horizontal openings at the front and rear that bring even more daylight inside and encourage connections to the outside. The atrium building also provides the above-ground parking garage as a flexible base for future office space expansion, taking into account future changes in traffic circulation.

Location
Düsseldorf
Type
Civic
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2021
Size (m²)
79.000

Client
Ministry of Finance of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Johan Cool, Marie Debraine, Nathalie Devoghelaere, Philip Niekamp, Jonathan Robert Maj, Federico Pedrini
Consultant
Bollinger+Grohmann (structure, mechanics)
Photos
Maxime Delvaux
294

ESCP
^[more]

Paris

Civic

Competition

Competition

2021

28.000

The ESCP Paris Campus site has never stopped evolving during the 200 years of its existence. Our ambition, in the face of this constant change, is the one to create a distinctive identity for the future ESCP Paris République Campus.
The set of buildings is conceived as being be composed by different, intertwined parts forming a coherent whole.
Unlike the current situation, however, the peculiarity of each part will go hand in hand with the complex overall functioning. The three large voids, corresponding to the three current courtyards, hence become new spaces with a strong characterisation: the Garden, the Courtyard and the Atrium.
The construction of a new building replacing the one from the ‘70s has many advantages: it makes the school less imposing in relation to the neighbourhood, it allows the addition of a secondary access and opens up common activities (catering areas, amphitheatre and coworking) from the ground floor to the surroundings.
An extra wide corridor open to the outside moreover gives access to the various functions of the school as well as allowing for informal meetings: we called this space “the gateway”.
The last three floors of this building - under a glass roof conforming to the Haussmann template – finally form the signal volume, that looks upon the landscape of the roofs of Paris.

Location
Paris
Type
Civic
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2021
Size (m²)
28.000

Client
CCI-Paris Ile-de-France
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Doug Allard, Vincent Blactot, Rémy Carat, Elena Caruso, Antoine Chaudemanche, Chloé De Salins, Marie Debraine, Nenad Duric, Eleonor Ferragu, Dana Smetankova, Ulysse Zehnlé
Consultants
Bollinger+Grohmann (structure)
Alto Ingénierie (mechanical)
Eco+Construire (economy)
Jeudi Wang + XDGA (image + video)
281

*

Regione Sicilia HQ
^[more]

Palermo

Civic

Competition

Competition

2021

160.000

The project calls for building half of the functional programme above ground, the other half underground. Instead of building an underground programmatic plate, we propose a negative urban space, a small piece of underground city, carved and modulated on the urban warp characteristic of Sicilian cities, from Palermo to Avola, but built from top to bottom.
The excavation corresponds to about four floors. These inverted buildings are then separated and organised on an orthogonal grid oriented NW SE, all gathered around a large tree-lined public space, square in shape and placed in the centre.
The large garden square, an oasis of eighty-one metres on each side, acts as a point of convergence of all flows: the connection to the nearby railway station arrives here and the main entrances to the various functions, including the office reception, face here.
On the north side of the square stands the large volume that will house the new regional administrative headquarters, a forty-two-storey parallelepiped with a base of eighty-one metres by thirty-two and fifty-five metres high.
The volume is served by four central distribution cores that also function as bracing pillars. The result is a slender shape, elongated from east to west, which optimises solar exposure.
This crystalline monolith is interrupted by a large void at mid-height, which divides it into two sections to accommodate a raised belvedere terrace. Structurally, the upper part is suspended from the central cores.
The parallelepiped is thus broken down into a stereoscopic image which gives the building four distinct characters depending on the cardinal point of observation.
To the south a double skin composed of ten 8.1m wide vertical bands, every second of which is a veranda. The other facades are triple-glazed curtainwalls to maximise indirect daylight. To the north the bands are horizontal, one transparent and one in opaque enamelled glass. To the east and west the glazing has cladding.

Location
Palermo
Type
Civic
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2021
Size (m²)
160.000

Client
Regione Sicilia
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Federico Pedrini, Doug Allard, Elena Caruso, Anne-Sophie Rouillere, Catherine Cornu, Johan Cool, Menelik Jobert, Nathalie Devoghelaere, Philip Niekamp
Consultants
MJW (structure)
Mate Engineering (mechanical, local architects)
TRT (traffic and mobility)
Transsolar (sustainability)
Images
Mir, XDGA
278

*

De Swaef
^[more]

Brussels

Education

Competition, 1st Prize

Ongoing

2021–

13.700

Located in the heart of the residential district of Scheut, the large Leopold de Swaef site will host two new schools and several new indoor and outdoor sports facilities.
The architectural and landscape project is concentrated around the perimeter of the plot, thus becoming part the large-block fabric characterising the Scheut district. The layout of the volumes alternates between full and empty, creating a balance between open and closed spaces, between the urban scale and the domestic one. This "built periphery" surrounds a Large Garden, a central space around which all the buildings are articulated and connected by a covered gallery, that acts as a filter between interior and exterior. In the northern part of the site, a triangular square is created to accommodate the flows of the various users of the site but also activities for the inhabitants of the district.
The logic of the project was directed towards the constitution of an urban form capable of bringing together all the institutions involved and of stimulating interaction between them while, at the same time, guaranteeing potential for future extension. A system where the whole is worth more than the sum of the parts.

Location
Brussels
Type
Education
Procedure
Competition, 1st Prize
Status
Ongoing
Year
2021–
Size (m²)
13.700

Client
Fédération Wallonie Bruxelles
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
competition: Xaveer De Geyter, Antoine Chaudemanche, Beatrice Colaiacomo, Anne-Sophie Rouillère, Chloé de Salins, Marie Debraine
Consultants
Michel Desvigne Paysagiste (landscape)
Util (structure)
Boydens Bureau bouwtechniek (mechanics)
Daidalos Peutz (acoustics)
Tractebel (mobility)
Speculoos (signalisation)
Photos
Maxime Delvaux
Illustration
Eva Le Roi
276

Van Overbeke
^[more]

Brussels

Residential

Competition

Competition

2020

14.000

XDGA’s proposal embraces the heritage of Ganshoren by happily adopting the bird's wing layout resulting from the subdivision permit, and by exploiting the typological and spatial qualities that derive from such configuration. Contemporary issues, such as sustainability and new ways of living, are subsequently brought into the picture.
The volumetry is a hybridization of the fabrics spotted in the surroundings: it is juxtaposition of a slightly curved bar that dialogues with the other towers on the scale of the district, and an active base made up of one-storey pavilions, designed on the scale of the neighborhood.
The nursery, the community hall and the indoor sports equipment, arranged in "pavilions" and in continuity with the public space, in fact, go beyond the imposed building line in order to get closer to the street, liven up the park and thus radiate in the neighborhood.
The proposal is ultimately the result of a reflection on collective housing, a topic that requires a profound revision at a time when the border between professional and domestic spheres is thin, lifestyles are diversifying and the ways of working, living, cooking and having fun are being transformed by the increasing digitization of our daily lives.

Location
Brussels
Type
Residential
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2020
Size (m²)
14.000

Client
SRLB (Société du Logement de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale)
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Chloé de Salins, Jacqueline De Souza Ludivice, Marie Debraine, Nathalie Devoghelaere, Anne-Sophie Rouillère, Willem Van Besien
Consultants
Bollinger+Grohmann (structure)
Studiebureau Boydens (techniques, EPB)
Atelier Miething Paysage (landscape)
Enthalpie (security)
Photos
Maxime Delvaux
270

X24 Rectorate of Créteil
^[more]

Cretéil

Civic

Competition

Competition

2020

21.000

In order to accommodate the Rectorate of the Academy of Créteil, we sought to imagine a building that would balance expressionism and pragmatism.
We believe that the project should, in fact, rediscover that breath of modernity of the buildings that make up the landscape of Créteil, while managing to create a new identity.
The materialisation of the project is, in this respect, essential. Concrete, of which we appreciate the plastic quality, would be too connoted; wood as a cladding material for the façade would risk being too fragile, both from a technical and a symbolic standpoint. We finally opted for a generalised use of glass and aluminium.
If we put forward the pragmatism dictating our choices, it is because we have conceived this project as an exemplary tool. The plan is regulated to adapt the building to its site: 4 straight angles and 2 arcs of circle are enough to build its geometry. A structural grid made out of wooden columns and slabs guarantees flexibility to the interior spaces and their future evolution.
In this case the building, in accordance with the request of the town planners, is constructed by layers. Three layers. The plinth is conceived as a solid, dark element that is more reflective than a matt mineral treatment but is just as durable. The body, slightly coloured and transparent, reveals the activity taking place inside the building. Finally the crown, the line of contact with the sky, which we propose covered in a reflective glass that mirrors the sky itself and dissolves the building into the atmosphere.
The design of the working spaces is none other than the result of a larger strategy. Wellbeing on the workplace involves creating the conditions for comfort in terms of light, acoustics, climate and a series of psychological factors. The outdoor spaces extending from the offices such as terraces, loggias and galleries are all places to meet, walk and work. They are as adaptable as their interior counterpart and can accommodate new working practices. Gardens furthermore develop from the very bottom up until the floors of the galleries. The whole forms a supplementary layer of the project, the substrate of its acceptance. We named it the ‘negotiated layer’, because it adapts according to uses, it offers a variety of natural environments, alongside with conditions of calm or even unexpected relations.

Location
Cretéil
Type
Civic
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2020
Size (m²)
21.000

Client
Rectorate of the Academy of Créteil
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer de Geyter, Vincent Blactot, Antoine Chaudemanche, Chloé De Salins, Marie Debraine, Ménélik Jobert, Leo Mazurek, Philip Niekamp, Matthias Van Rossen, Samia Wahbi, Ulysse Zehnlé
Consultants
Bollinger+Grohmann (structure)
Alto Ingénierie (mechanical)
Eco+Construire (quantity surveyor)
Ecome (environment)
Made by Mistake + XDGA (model)
Peutz (acoustics)
TP WorkUnit (workplace design)
Images
ArtefactoryLab
268

Smart Manufacturing Campus
^[more]

Genk

Commercial

Competition, 1st Prize

Under construction

2020–

35.520

The Smart Manufacturing Campus houses companies and institutions working in the field of smart technology. The project is conceived as a fully modular, flexible building in which the units of independent companies can be (re)arranged, expanded or reduced.
On the ground floor of the building are located all the production and storage spaces, easily reachable by heavy machinery and vehicles through a column-free inner street.
On the upper level, the offices are housed around patios that not only create outdoor -or indoor- spaces for the staff, yet allow light to enter the deep interiors of the underlying workshops.

Location
Genk
Type
Commercial
Procedure
Competition, 1st Prize
Status
Under construction
Year
2020–
Size (m²)
35.520

Client
MoThor NV (with: LRM, StadGenk, HWW)
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, David Ampe, Joris De Greef, Nicolas Duerinck, Arie Gruijters, Yasmine Houari
Consultants
Bollinger & Grohmann (structure)
Boydens Studiebureau (mechanics)
Daidalos-Peutz (acoustics)
VK architects and engineers (fire-competition phase)
Photos
Severin Malaud
266

Arena BSB
^[more]

Brasilia

Urban

Competition

Competition

2019

285.000

The main characteristic of Brasilia's urban landscape is the dialogue between the four scales proposed by Lucio Costa in the Plano Piloto: Monumental, Gregarious, Residential and Bucolic.
The proposal for the Arena BSB Complex integrates the bucolic scale of the city and emphasizes the idea of the “park city” idealized by Lucio Costa. The new buildings are objects, surrounded by local green areas, creating an intermediate density permeated by spaces that work at the pedestrian scale and connect the various uses of the Complex.
The project had to take into consideration some objects already existing on the site such as: the National Stadium of Brasilia Mané Garrincha, the multi-sports complex Ginásio Nilson Nelson, and the Cláudio Coutinho water park. Each of these elements had its own flow system that somehow needed to be integrated into the new proposal.
The masterplan for the Complex was conceived as an overlay of four layers:
The first of these is the Boulevard. The Boulevard is the backbone of the Complex, along which run the pedestrian route and underground parking areas. This element connects the various proposed uses: sports, health, leisure and entertainment. The Boulevard route maintains a solemn distance from the Stadium, which stands out as the protagonist in the landscape. This distance furthermore gives room to create large plazas and intermediate parks;
The second layer consists of the volumes of the new buildings that find place along the Boulevard, following its curves. In these buildings is distributed most of the program with restaurants, bars, leisure, entertainment, sports, and offices;
The third layer shows the empty pathways that cut through the volumes of buildings connecting the northern and southern areas of the project;
The fourth and last layer contains the areas of the buildings with specific uses, which touch or cross the Boulevard and hold unique shapes that make them stand out in the Complex. These are the Aquarium, the Organic Market and the Cinema.

Location
Brasilia
Type
Urban
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2019
Size (m²)
285.000

Client
Arena BSB
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Elena Caruso, Menelik Jobert, Jacqueline Luduvice, Philip Niekamp, Greta Torsello
Consultants
Atelier 77 (local architects)
Fernando Cunha (renders)
264

Estavayer Amplifiée
^[more]

Estavayer-le-Lac

Residential

Competition

Competition

2021

15.730

Each island is composed of a platform on which the buildings are arranged. These platforms, densely vegetated, fit into the topography by creating varied access situations.
Within the logic of creating a new urban continuity between the station and the city centre, the public space is designed as a generous unitary space, punctuated by a series of smaller squares and vegetation. The continuous materiality of the ground favours instinctive paths for the different users (travellers, passers-by, inhabitants) on which the different functions of the site cohabit (multimodal relay hub with the city, domestic scale of access to housing).
The volumes arranged on the platforms are orthogonal and of various sizes, thus fitting into the pre-existing urban fabric and offering various types of housing, from studios to townhouses, all of which benefit from a double orientation. The layout of the volumes make it possible to offer broad views and optimal sun orientation.
The services and shops on the ground floor have furthermore been arranged along the main pedestrian axes to animate the paths of passers-by, while the signal plot bordering the bus station accommodates the offices.
The architectural language of the facades is deliberately sober and dual: the platforms on the one hand, thought of as a solid, dark and mineral base and the volumes, on the other hand, cladded with different shades light of enamelled glass.

Location
Estavayer-le-Lac
Type
Residential
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2021
Size (m²)
15.730

Client
City of Estavayer-le-Lac
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Rémy Carat, Antoine Chaudemanche, Thaïs de Roquemaurel, Chloé de Salins, Marie Debraine, Dana Smetankova
Consultants
Edifea (general contractor, structure & supervision)
Michel Desvigne Paysagiste (landscape)
Photos and Video
Maxime Delvaux
263

*

CCN
^[more]

Brussels

Civic

Competition

Competition

2019

132.000

The site’s context presents a clear paradox: on the one hand, it is one of the most infrastructurally-connected areas in Brussels, while on the other hand, it lacks coherent public and pedestrian connections. The train station, metro stop and bus terminal are all hidden by one main building - the CCN building - that blocks entrances and impedes fluxes. The existing bus terminal manifests itself as a strong buffer that kills any attempt to open some program on the ground floor. With its raised plinth, in fact, access to all major public and commercial programme located in the existing building is rendered arduous. Our task was to invert the definition of this space, allocate a large public space for pedestrians, and integrate the bus terminal within the plinth. Lifting the main part of the building allowed us to create a deep, continuous public path crossing the whole plot to access the station directly and creating, at the same time, a gentle friction and exchange between the train station, the bus terminal and the metro stop. The proposed feet of the towers all contain commercial programme. The cafeteria and bicycle parking are facing the square towards the train station. A shopping mall and a market hall are closing the space on the northern part of the plot, and open in continuity with a park, they are all addressing the local, small scale of this part of the city.
The main lifted slab hosts a public programme, readable through its green coloured glass. It connects to the other side of the city, a side that is today strongly isolated by the train tracks and the station itself. Its specific open and transparent design offers panoramic views on this part of town. The housing units and hotel are located on the side of the project, contained in the towers, that offer great views and exterior spaces with a 270° panorama. The offices enjoy a very rational and generic layout, while the middle slab is punctuated by large patios and additional specific programme.

Location
Brussels
Type
Civic
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2019
Size (m²)
132.000

Client
AXA, AG RE, Atenor
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Doug Allard, Antoine Chaudemanche, Joris de Greef, Arie Gruijters, Ménélik Jobert, Gaspard Lévêque, Hannelore Thomas
Consultants
Tractebel (mobility)
CityTools (participation)
Kaderstudio (architecture, interior)
MAD (workplace)
BXL MRS (economics, sustainability)
Accattone (public art)
Photos
XDGA - Matthias Van Rossen
261

El Croquis
^[more]

Madrid

Publication

Commission

Published

2019–2020

–

This monograph focuses on the work accomplished by Xaveer De Geyter Architects between 2005 and 2020, office founded by this Belgian architect in 1991.
Xaveer de Geyter (Doornik - Belgium, 1957) graduated at the Architecture Institute St. Lucas in Ghent in 1981. After that, he started working at Rem Koolhaas' office (OMA) in Rotterdam, until 1991, when he founded his own office.
At the same time, he has been working as a teacher in the school where he obtained his degree. He has also worked as visiting and guest professor at the Berlage Institute, Delft, Netherlands (1993-2003), the EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland (2004) and the ETH, Zurich, Switzerland (2016).
The office Xaveer De Geyter Architects has won several international competitions, as well as numerous awards throughout its trajectory, including the Flemish Culture Award for Architecture in 2014, the Mies van der Rohe award in 2003 and the Charles Wilford Prize in the years 1993 and 1992.
(from: El Croquis, press release)

Location
Madrid
Type
Publication
Procedure
Commission
Status
Published
Year
2019–2020
Size (m²)
–

Architects
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Lieven De Boeck, Marc Dessauvage, Jonathan Robert Maj
Publisher
El Croquis
260

Citydox
^[more]

Brussels

Residential

Competition, 1st Prize

Under construction

2019–

25.000

The project superposes a programme of productive activities and housing; in between, on the first floor, an intermediate layer of parking acts as a "buffer zone" between the two.
Not only does this respond to a high groundwater table, yet it protects residents from possible nuisances caused by the productive activities on the ground floor and provides both functions with a potential flexible space for future expansion.
The project furthermore sets out a set of urban principles aimed at creating coherence between the three plots present on the site on the “macro” scale, while preserving their diversity on the “micro” scale. The respect of the building envelopes and the position of the volumes on the plinth ensures, in fact, harmony between the three towers facing the canal, while the individual expression of the facades allows for readability of each element.
This very principle is ultimately applied to neighbouring plots as well.

Location
Brussels
Type
Residential
Procedure
Competition, 1st Prize
Status
Under construction
Year
2019–
Size (m²)
25.000

Client
Atenor
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
competition:
Xaveer De Geyter, Vincent Blactot, Karel Bruyland, Remy Carat, Antoine Chaudemanche, Beatrice Colaiacomo, Marie Debraine, Jan Krupicka, Gaspard Leveque, Anne-Sophie Rouillère, Emma Vanhille, Dana Vargovcikova, Rui Zenha
definitive design:
Xaveer De Geyter, Karel Bruyland, Beatrice Colaiacomo, Catherine Cornu, Hanne Defloor, Nicolas Duerinck, Nenad Duric, Jan Krupicka, Anne-Sophie Rouillère, Hannelore Thomas, Willem Van Besien
Consultants
CSD (structure, techniques)
D2S (acoustics)
Photos
XDGA-Matthias Van Rossen
259

Morcote
^[more]

Morcote

Urban

Competition

Competition

2019

230.000

Morcote is a small town overlooking Lake Lugano, locked in between the water and the slopes of Mount Arbòstora.
Though being largely praised for its beauty, the town has unfortunately suffered from years of unwise interventions, that have compromised a direct relationship with the water and have left behind a rather fragmented series of open spaces.
The proposal hence aims at providing the town with a coherent and unitary image through the design of intelligible public spaces, while safeguarding and enhancing the existing qualities of the place.
Specifically, the strategy relies on creating a novel accessibility system, able to link and experience the three main elements present in the landscape: the Lake, the gardens and the monumental complex situated higher up on the mountain.
The lakefront is rendered easily accessible from the town centre by favouring pedestrian use and by creating larger gathering spaces (Piazza del Mercato, Piazza Granda) that alternate with a number of platforms jutting out on the water, at different levels.
New paths (and a lift) are moreover foreseen to connect with the urban spaces situated on the mountain’s slope up North. Here, viewing balconies and ramps take the visitor through the terraced landscape of the gardens, a pattern of wine yards, orchards and urban gardens that culminates in the monumental complex, the historic and cultural heart of the town.

Location
Morcote
Type
Urban
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2019
Size (m²)
230.000

Client
City of Morcote
Architects
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Rémy Carat, Elena Caruso, Greta Torsello
Consultants
Inside Outside (landscape)
Project Partners LTD (structure)
Francesco Allievi SA (mobility)
Pedrozzi Associati (geology)
257

Lens
^[more]

Lens

Commercial

Competition, 1st Prize

Under construction

2019–

7.994

The volumetry of the building proposed by XDGA is the result of a direct reaction to the surrounding context. Its layout and shapes fit into the existing alignments and masses. The building is divided into three distinct volumes characterized by different heights and set back from each other.
The first volume to the south-east of the plot lines up with the neighbouring building, a former medical office at Lens station, and thus begins the movement towards the adjacent volumes. Gradually, the facades advance towards rue Jean Létienne to reach the level of the last volume, on the north-west side, and find alignment with the neighbouring building. If on the one hand this subtle play of cusps places the building in its context and ensures continuity between the lots, it simultaneously manages to break the linearity present on rue Jean Létienne. Finally, each volume represents an address for the services proposed on the ground floor.
On a programmatic level, the project proposes a horizontal division into 4 layers. The basement is intended for parking – it can accommodate 52 cars, bicycle parking and technical rooms. The ground floor houses the reception halls of the training centre, offices, the shop for the transport company as well as a café / restaurant. The upper floors accommodate the premises of the training centre and offices.
By virtue of its programming and location, the base enables the surrounding public spaces to be activated. A pedestrian path takes place under the building, thus connecting rue Jean Létienne and the bus station. The latter is a real urban breakthrough. With a width of 15 meters and a significant height, it becomes a protected public space, while serving two of the entrances to the building. Finally, a covered gallery on the bus station side allows public transport users to find shelter while waiting for their bus.
The project's stepped volumetry and the integration of techniques into the building envelope free up large sunny outdoor areas, linked to the platforms. Thus, the occupants of the building will be able to enjoy the views of these hanging gardens.

Location
Lens
Type
Commercial
Procedure
Competition, 1st Prize
Status
Under construction
Year
2019–
Size (m²)
7.994

Client
Tereneo
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
competition: Xaveer De Geyter, Beatrice Colaiacomo, Antoine Chaudemanche, Marie Debraine, Jan Krupička
definitive design: Xaveer De Geyter, Jérémie Brault, Antoine Chaudemanche, Beatrice Colaiacomo
execution: Xaveer De Geyter, Jérémie Brault, Beatrice Colaiacomo
Consultants
Ingébois (wood stability)
Descamps Ingénierie (concrete stability)
Econrjbat (mechanics)
Akoustik ingénierie & conseil (acoustics)
Photos
XDGA-Matthias Van Rossen
256

Charleroi Mambourg
^[more]

Charleroi

Urban

Study

Completed

2019–2021

900.000

This study anticipates the development of a new legal framework for the Mambourg Sector, consistent with the vision of the City of Charleroi and of the many public and private players involved.
This ambition is formalized through 4 major general strategies and 6 sub-sectors, that allow for greater flexibility and the integration of uncertainties.
The project ultimately develops sector by sector and articulates a series of buildings with various programs (public, private, housing, universities) developping around a structuring public axis leading from the lower town to Gilly on the one hand, and around the Parc Hiernaux on the other.

Location
Charleroi
Type
Urban
Procedure
Study
Status
Completed
Year
2019–2021
Size (m²)
900.000

Client
LGSIB S.A. + Ville de Charleroi
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Maud Bouhin, Elena Caruso, Antoine Chaudemanche, Thaïs de Roquemaurel, Eleonor Ferragu, Menelik Jobert, Jacqueline Luduvice, Leo Mazurek, Federico Pedrini, Anne-Sophie Rouillère
Consultants
Citytools (concertation)
Une Fabrique de la Ville (programmation)
255

*

Mobilis
^[more]

Brussels

Commercial

Competition, 1st Prize

Under construction

2018–

32.000

The client for this building is a car import and dealer company that is fully aware of the deep change and uncertainty the automotive sector will be going through. To put it mildly, electric cars need less maintenance, showrooms are being replaced by websites and are becoming almost superfluous. But more drastically, the sharing economy could mean that car ownership gets replaced by mobility as a service, or cars could simply disappear in the city. For now, a very large car workshop and showrooms for different brands are still part of the program. Equally requested are production spaces for urban industry and farming, and local programs for a neighbourhood in full transition. The site is situated along the Brussels Canal where the urban production economy is encouraged. What is needed is not so much a building type that can be endlessly adapted to new uses, but a structure that can accommodate whatever activity.
A building typology is proposed in which landscape, urban density, logistic movements and architecture merge into one identity. On the inside the building will consist of a rational, orthogonal and generic structure, with large floor spans and a high load bearing concrete structure. With a height of 7meters they will be capable to host any kind of activity. In case this height is not needed intermediate floors in steel will be installed. On the contrary, the curvy façades on the outside are defined by various criteria: the movements of cars and trucks on site, the bending of the main road and the amorphous boundary of the plot. A series of patios and atriums will function as abundant gardens, providing the greenspace that is lacking on the outside.
Despite the heaviness of the structure the large volume will be marked by lightness and transparency. Façades will be fully glazed on one side and filled in with a screen made out of vertical steel cables on the other side.

Location
Brussels
Type
Commercial
Procedure
Competition, 1st Prize
Status
Under construction
Year
2018–
Size (m²)
32.000

Client
D’ieteren Immo
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
competition: Xaveer De Geyter, Antoine Chaudemanche, Lieven De Boeck, Chloe de Salins, Lukas Fink, Jan Krupicka, Emilia Ockerman
definitive design: Xaveer De Geyter, Annelotte Herrebosch, Emilia Ockerman, with David Ampe, Lionel Bousquet, Marie Debraine, Hanne Defloor, Joris De Greef, Chloé de Salins, Lukas Fink, Yuichiro Suzuki, Yannick Vergnaud, Dana Vargovcikova
Consultants
Util Struktuurstudies (structure)
Studiebureau Boydens (techniques)
Daidalos Peutz bouwfysisch ingenieursbureau (acoustics)
Securisan (health / security)
Pam & Jenny (signalisation)
Photos
Maxime Delvaux
251

Loi 130
^[more]

Brussels

Urban

Competition

Competition

2018

169.300

Close to the other EU Institutional buildings, the LOI130 project is to become the Administrative Headquarters of the EU. The sheer vastness of this venue begs for the question: how to integrate such an XXL premise in a neighbourhood that wants to be urban, mixed and lively throughout the day, while creating an Institution that is less hermetic towards its surroundings?
In order to achieve this ambition, the central element of the project is a large, glazed, collective Void that crosses the entire site. It reveals the internal life of the Headquarter, connects all the elements of the project and lends itself to open programming.
The complex is essentially articulated in four parts: a base, low and mid raises, four high-rises and the Void. All parts and programmes (offices, visitor centre, the Day Nurseries and the Catering) are connected to and articulated around the Void.
A series of public spaces furthermore animate the project and favour the relation with the context:
- a pedestrian and bicycle Passage cutting the midrise building volumes, intervalled by the retails and the main entrances to the EU Commission.
- a large, column free gallery space mediates between Rue de la Loi and the building volume.
- a garden on the level of the Chaussée d’Etterbeek, that hosts the metro entrance, forms a spatial unity with the Jardin de Maelbeek, as well as a forecourt to the Visitor Center inside.

Location
Brussels
Type
Urban
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2018
Size (m²)
169.300

Client
European Commission, ec.europa.eu
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects), Gigon&Guyer, BRUTHER
for XDGA: Xaveer De Geyter, Doug Allard, Vincent Blactot, Antoine Chaudemanche, Johan Cool, Chloe de Salins, Marie Debraine, Federico Pedrini, Hannelore Thomas
Consultants
Bollinger-Grohmann (structure)
Boydens (mechanics)
Michel Desvigne Paysagiste (landscape)
Transsolar (sustainability)
NZEB (Energy)
Photos
XDGA-Matthias Van Rossen
Images
Artefactorylab
248

RITCS
^[more]

Brussels

Education

Competition

Competition

2018

4.000

The environment of the Erasmus University of Applied Sciences at the Nijverheidskaai is in full transition. From a production district, the city's underbelly, she has evolved to a very mixed area, rough but lively. The site and the building complex of the school itself are autonomous and even defensive in that environment.
The addition of a film studio and a theatre to this complex is a great opportunity to revise both the relationship with the neighbourhood and the organization of the school itself. We propose a grid plan in which building parts are interspersed with open spaces.
Within this master plan, it is therefore logical to propose a compact building for the film studio and theatre that is installed separately behind the existing entrance building. All major functions are stacked one above the other to a height of almost forty meters. On the ground floor there is a film studio, above three floors of smaller studios and at the top, with a view of Brussels, the theatre.
The building will manifestly be present in the neighbourhood and within the campus; because of its height, but also because of the strong contrast between open and closed parts, because of the moving goods lift within a translucent volume. In addition to the neighbourhood, but also out of economic necessity, the whole is made up of materials from industrial construction.
A limited part of the existing school will be renovated to house three studios.

Location
Brussels
Type
Education
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2018
Size (m²)
4.000

Client
Erasmushogeschool
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, David Ampe, Johan Cool, Lieven De Boeck, Karel Bruyland, Paul-Emmanuel Lambert, Emilia Ockerman, Hannelore Thomas
Consultants
Ney & Partners (structure)
Studiebureau Boydens (mechanical)
Daidalos Peutz (acoustics)
TTAS (scenography)
247

HEL Vinci School
^[more]

Brussels

Education

Competition

Competition

2018

23.912

Three concerns are the basis of the design proposal for the new establishment.
Firstly, the programme of both schools is large, if compared to the size of the plot.
Secondly, it is desirable to preserve a public space on the scale of this important new program.
Finally, it is crucial to preserve an adequate distance between the new volume and the ESP building, thus facilitating a harmonious coexistence between the two.
To meet these functional and urban challenges, the project consists of a stepped volume, composed of three superimposed layers which are stacked so as to create a large outdoor space to the East on the ground floor.
On the other side, the building is gradually distanced from the ESP building, originating two long terraces.
The intersection between the different layers of the project is reinforced by two stepped skylights that cross the volume from East to West, that bring natural light inside the building and are visible from the forecourt. In the centre, a staircase leads to all floors from a large atrium. On the last level, roof terraces to the North and East are placed, hidden behind a metal mesh.
The project is composed of 5 levels above ground and 3 levels in the basement hosting the various programs.
These programs are divided into 3 layers within the building: public spaces on the ground floor and first level (lobby, Learning Center and the three auditoriums), private EPHEC spaces on the second level, and private premises of VINCI school from level three to five. The technical and service spaces (parking, archiving, etc.) are ultimately located in the basement.

Location
Brussels
Type
Education
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2018
Size (m²)
23.912

Client
ASBL Haute Ecole Leonard de Vinci
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Antoine Chaudemanche, Pieter Coelis, Beatrice Colaiacomo, Chloé de Salins, Philip Niekamp, Anne-Sophie Rouillère, Yannick Vergnaud
Consultants
Bollinger-Grohmann (structure)
Studiebureau Boydens (techniques)
Daidalos-Peutz (acoustics)
Sécurisan (security)
246

City Gate
^[more]

Brussels

Urban

Competition

Competition

2018

84.084

In continuity with the developments of the "Plan Canal", the project supports the formidable opportunities that come with a rapidly changing district, where the desired programmatic mix transforms the industrial character of the place while preserving part of its memory.
Here, industrial and infrastructural activities come together in the footsteps of an ancient alluvial plain to form a "small island", that is part of a wider constellation of activities.
Our proposal supports the urban and programmatic ambition envisioned by the plan, by enhancing the specific size of the plot and by promoting the encounter of different activities. The urban intervention, as well as the architectures associated with it, place at the centre of concerns the production of spaces offering great comfort of habitability combined with a strong flexibility of occupations.
The design of the project refers to the intermediate scale present on the site, between large commercial warehouses and neighbouring urban blocks. It is based on this scale in order to respond to the community of activities present on the site, while maintaining various ways of living according to current standards. While its different parts offer possibilities for simple and economical habitats, the project postulates on the exceptional character of the encounters between the different practices rather than the originality of its built forms.

Location
Brussels
Type
Urban
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2018
Size (m²)
84.084

Client
Marché de service conjoint SLRB/citydev.brussels
Architects
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects), Baukunst, Bruther
Consultants
Mouton SCRI (structure)
Igrec Ingéniérie SAS – France (mechanics)
Photos
Baukunst
244

ZHAW
^[more]

Winterthur

Education

Competition

Competition

2018

15.600

The ZHAW area is relatively limited to absorb all the functions required.
Therefore, the master plan envisages the re-establishment of an essential campus structure with free-standing buildings. The potential of an open campus is furthermore expressed in a new continuous garden area which will become an integral part of the project.
Both buildings conceived require the maximum volume allowed to accommodate all the necessary spaces, yet maintaining individual architectural expressions.
The proposal envisages the TLN building as horizontally offset volumes within a simple glass shell and a central atrium bringing light to both the laboratories and the workshops. The TLN2 building, on the other hand, is shown as a zig-zag volume with free floors that can be switched according to the respective uses, wrapped at the back by a facade-wide core.

Location
Winterthur
Type
Education
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2018
Size (m²)
15.600

Client
Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Building Authority Canton of Zurich
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Antoine Barth, Marie Debraine, Arie Gruijters, Ménélik Jobert, Yuichiro Suzuki, Yannick Vergnaud
Consultants
Topotek Berlin (landscape)
Topotek Zurich (architecture)
EBP (engineering)
Photos
XDGA-Matthias Van Rossen
242

Ostend Social Housing Quarter
^[more]

Ostend

Residential

Competition

Competition

2018

52.000

The existing social housing estate, called ‘New City’, has all the qualities of a typical modernist project: large, green open spaces around high-rise apartment buildings with great views, lots of daylight and rather big terraces.
The existing architecture of ‘New City’, however, also exhibits the problematic sides of a typical modernistic project : a green space with no differentiation nor character, a weak link with the surrounding neighbourhoods, a limited amount of housing typologies, and a poor relation of the buildings with the ground level.
The new project will replace the existing buildings while adding extra apartments and programs to the site. In addition, the problematic sides of modernism will be confronted. To do so, we propose three main strategies:
1. Constructing layered and varied public space;
A central square usable and accessible to a wider audience, surrounded by public programs, workplaces and commercial spaces. A series of specific landscape elements instead of the existing, generic greenery. A new high-rise plan that opens up to the surroundings.
2. A quality of living that takes into account the limitations of social housing budgets and regulations, but uses the winter garden as a tool to create extra spatial quality and surface;
3. A plan that allows the whole project to be built in only one phase, in order to limit the inconvenience for the residents and the surroundings.

Location
Ostend
Type
Residential
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2018
Size (m²)
52.000

Client
De Oostendse Haard and De Gelukkige Haard
Architect
XDGA – Xaveer De Geyter Architects
Xaveer De Geyter, David Ampe, Karel Bruyland, Beatrice Colaiacomo, Lieven De Boeck, Jacqueline De Souza Luduvice, Anne-Sophie Rouillère, Hannelore Thomas, Rui Zenha
Consultants
Michel Desvigne Paysagiste (landscape)
Bollinger + Grohmann (structure)
Studiebureau Boydens (mechanics)
241

UCBM
^[more]

Rome

Education

Competition

Competition

2018

190.000

Situated on the outskirts of Rome, the masterplan for this bio-medical campus has interesting landscape and topography, and a large hospital building as starting points.
The central element that is proposed is a monumental, linear void, a major public strip along which new buildings will be erected. It is north-south oriented in such a way as to give an address to the hospital. A series of premises of different scale and program will be gradually built around it.
On the other side of this pedestrian green, a new first phase building is imagined, similar in scale, but quite different as a typology. It consists of a two levelled disk of 137 x 103 meters, irregularly perforated by twelve patios, that is elevated above a public space, thus protecting it and creating a moderate outside climate for students, doctors, researchers and visitors to informally meet each other. Some programmatic elements, such as the university restaurant, a bookshop, an arts center, a central access lobby, and several elevator cores inhabit this ground-floor space. The topography remains intact, so that an existing hill at the south end of the strip seems to support the disk. It serves as a natural access to a student housing segment in the new building. The disk includes all of the first phase program: alongside the student housing there will be a mix of educational, administrative, research, sports and other campus life related functions. The façades are marked by a very regular rhythm of structural concrete slabs that span both floors, leaving 60% of the façade open. Set back by two meters is a fully glazed façade, thus creating a second plan not only to settle all irregularities coming from the inside program, but equally providing loggia spaces and an efficient sun protection for the entire building.

Location
Rome
Type
Education
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2018
Size (m²)
190.000

Client
UCBM, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Antoine Barth, Elena Caruso, Lieven De Boeck, Marie Debraine, Chloé De Salins, Mar Garrido, Jan Krupicka, Jacqueline Luduvice, Philip Niekamp, Federico Pedrini, Hannah Perrino, Greta Torsello
Consultants
Studio Altieri (structure)
Studio Altieri (mechanics)
Studio Altieri (acoustics)
Transsolar (sustainability)
Bureau Bas Smets (landscape)
Photos
Maxime Delvaux
240

Cargill Headquarters
^[more]

Vilvoorde

Commercial

Competition, 1st Prize

Discontinued

2018–2020

35.000

Since the late seventies the Canal area in Vilvoorde has been transforming from a typical 19th century industrial conurbation into a stretch of green urbanism. What used to be a dense mixture of warehouses, workspaces, housing boroughs and seldom remnants from previous centuries, has now become a configuration of freestanding volumes, mostly housing, on a green carpet with public space all around. Former backyard extensions are now fronts and need to address the park.
Apart from this urban transition, the main objective of the project is to create connectivity and collaboration between Cargill and its customers and visitors, between the Headquarters Offices and the R&D center, between Product Development and ‘Go To Market’ Development, and ultimately between all the different departments. In order to make this possible an elevated, interior street connecting the existing buildings with the new programs is proposed.
It does not only connect, yet it is also a showcase for the Cargill products and production methods. This central device ends up on the north side in a circular shaped restaurant, while on the southside it leads into a new main building, where the street expands into a vast, terraced landscape that functions as a large open work and meeting space, and that connects the new departments.
This Headquarters Building is a very compact and sustainable volume that houses most of the required program. As seen from the front, the diagonally stepped open space cuts across the volume. It is illuminated by an atrium above and it is set back from the front facade to offer an equally stepped terrace. While this part is in transparent glass, the volume beneath is clad in translucent glass and houses the Application Center. The offices, behind a façade made in black glass, are situated on top.

Location
Vilvoorde
Type
Commercial
Procedure
Competition, 1st Prize
Status
Discontinued
Year
2018–2020
Size (m²)
35.000

Client
Cargill
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
competition: Xaveer De Geyter, Doug Allard, Johan Cool, Lieven De Boeck, Joris De Greef, Ménélik Jobert, Emilia Ockerman, Greta Torsello
definitive design: Xaveer De Geyter, Joris De Greef and Arie Gruijters, with Doug Allard, David Ampe, Nenad Duric, Mar Garrido, Ménélik Jobert, Yuichiro Suzuki, Hannelore Thomas, Matthias Van Rossen, Rui Zenha
execution design (tender): Xaveer De Geyter, Joris De Greef, Arie Gruijters, with Doug Allard, David Ampe, Nenad Duric, Mar Garrido, Ménélik Jobert, Hannelore Thomas, Rui Zenha
Consultants
Sweco (structure, mechanical, lab engineer, sustainability)
XDGA (landscape)
Photos
XDGA-Matthias Van Rossen
239

Hôtel PEX
^[more]

Toulouse

Commercial

Competition, 1st Prize

Discontinued

2018

14.500

The Toulouse Expo and Convention Center is a newly built complex in the vicinity of the airport and the airplane manufacturing industry. In this context of large scale infrastructure, the demand is to add two hotels. Although security measures tend to obstruct any kind of relation between the hotels and the Expo, the urban form that is proposed suggests the opposite.
Instead of a self-sufficient urban block, a diagonally cross-shaped form opens up four quadrants towards all sides. One is an elevated forecourt and restaurant terrace with monumental stairs and a ramp leading to the hotel lobby. The second one is purely logistic: delivery, kiss & ride for both hotels, parking access. An open air parking under a pergola is planned on the westside, while the fourth quadrant is a hotel garden. A claustra wall on the north and the west separates the hotel from the Expo Center.
The main hotel lobby is situated at the center of the cross over two floors. It gives access to three of the four wings. A five star hotel is situated in the south-east wing and has its access at the tip of the wing. The overall complex counts four floors, while the five star hotel has an additional roof pavillion. The roof is used for dining, swimming and sun-bathing. The second and third floor, which contain the majority of the rooms, are clad in horizontal bands of metal caillebotis, in order to unify the complex.

Location
Toulouse
Type
Commercial
Procedure
Competition, 1st Prize
Status
Discontinued
Year
2018
Size (m²)
14.500

Client
Kaufman & Broad Midi Pyrénées
Architect
competition: Xaveer De Geyter, Joffrey About, Doug Allard, Karel Bruyland, Antoine Chaudemanche, Ménélik Jobert, Dana Vargovcikova
definitive design: Xaveer De Geyter, Marie –Pierre Vandeputte, with Vincent Blactot, Lionel Bousquet, Jeremie Brault, Antoine Chaudemanche, Marie Debraine, Ménélik Jobert, Solène Le Gallo, Jacqueline Luduvice, Julien Picard, Anne-Sophie Rouillère, Blanche Tauzin, Dana Vargovcikova, Simon Vellut, Rui Zenha
Consultants
OTEIS Toulouse (structure, mechanics)
ECOME (sustainability)
Atelier Justine Miething (landscape)
Gamba (acoustics)
Photos
XDGA-Matthias Van Rossen
237

Conservatory
^[more]

Brussels

Civic

Competition

Competition

2018

9.000

This long-awaited project for the Conservatory should essentially serve three purposes: the overall restoration of the existing components, the reorganization and expansion of the program as far as the location allows, and the improvement of the integration and visibility of the Conservatory in the Brussels city centre. The various outdoor spaces of the site are underused and have no proper relationship with each other. At the same time, the possibilities for expansion within the existing, largely protected environment are limited.
The starting point of our proposal is the replacement of the current library building, which is the part of the conservatory which has the least historical value. The library itself will be transferred to Wolstraat nr. 11 with the courtyard behind as a new reading room. Together they form the central pivot point of the entire campus. The main staircase is also being restored. The new buildings include the largest new volumes, such as the chamber music hall and the rehearsal room for symphonic orchestra, a cafeteria that gives view to two courtyards, percussion rooms and masterclasses on different floors and a belvedere at the highest level overlooking the Brussels roof landscape.
The new building is determined by its context but is at the same time very contemporary. The orthogonality of Cluysenaar's conservatory building is consistently maintained in the floor plans, while it is delineated towards the courtyard by the diagonal plot line, a remainder of the former Allegerbenstraat.

Location
Brussels
Type
Civic
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2018
Size (m²)
9.000

Client
KCB - CRB, Beliris
Architect
SumProject (lead architect, renovation/restoration)
XDGA (new construction)
Xaveer De Geyter, Joffrey About, Pieter Coelis, Chloé de Salins, Mar Garrido, Emilia Ockerman, Matthias Van Rossen
Consultants
Barbara Van Der Wee Architecten (restoration)
SWEC (mechanics)
Daidalos (scoustics)
Ney&Partners (structure)
A-RES (Project management)
236

Puppet Theatre
^[more]

Tirana

Cultural

Competition, 1st Prize

Under construction

2020–

5.750

For the City of Tirana and the citizens the project is first and foremost about the extension of the Great Park of Tirana. In reconverting the former enclosed and off-limits Garda site, the projects allows for a vast plot of land to be returned to the public realm. Just as elsewhere in the park, several ‘pavilions’ are integrated in the green park.
These connections between the city and the park are the main driver of the masterplan, both for the open green space, as for the three buildings in the park. Each and every building will make a unique connection to the park and serve as a gateway to the park. From a monumental arch through the mixed used building, over the theatre that opens unto the park to the plaza/platform/stairs that cuts through the National Library, each program establishes its own unique relation to the park and displays its programming in a different way to the citizens strolling through the park. The new park and its public program will turn this into a seamless connection of urban and green spaces.
The current puppet theatre occupies a cramped and inappropriate space in the centre of the city. We propose to give the theatre a better and bigger space inside Tirana’s big park. Far more important than pure size is the intention to make it into a flexible, free and welcoming space for performance, production, experimentation regardless of the type of cultural activity.
We envision the theatre as a cultural centre, a place of production and a performance machine. Just like some street theatres of old, the building opens itself to the public. The new theatre doesn’t shy away from being a ‘machine’, a tool to be used for a wide variety of possible performances and the production that is required to make those performances (traditional and modern puppet theatre, dance, music, performance, spoken word …).
Also unique in this puppet theatre is its relation to the Park of Tirana. Not only is the building a pavilion in the park, a bit set back from the main roads, it also has the possibility to open up the main stage to the park, where the existing natural slope becomes an outside seating area to enjoy puppetry or other performances.

Location
Tirana
Type
Cultural
Procedure
Competition, 1st Prize
Status
Under construction
Year
2020–
Size (m²)
5.750

Client
Ministry of Culture, Albania
Architect
XDGA
Xaveer De Geyter, Marie-Pierre Vandeputte, Dana Vargovcikova, Karla Kovacevic, Rui Zenha, Vincent Blactot, Ada Petrela, Pieter Coelis
Consultants
iRI shpk (local architecture)
Gentian Lipe (Structure)
Hydro&Energy (MEP)
dUCKS scéno (Scenography)
235

Hôtel des Archives
^[more]

Geneva

Civic

Competition

Competition

2018

8.500

The proposal questions in first instance the brief’s requirement to place the new archives of the City of Geneva underground. The Old Barrack’s site is, in fact, subject to the regular overflowing of the adjacent river and that would represent a great threat to the documents’ preservation.
The archives are thus stacked vertically and placed in the middle of the future garden; they rest on four black steel cruciform columns and are connected to the old building by a transparent pavilion.
This "bell tower", besides granting appropriate technical and climatic standards, ultimately assumes a symbolic meaning, as it values and exposes the city’s collective memory.
It does so by presenting itself as a slender, monolithic concrete volume wrapped by a transparent emergency staircase -which can also be used as a vertical promenade- and crowned by a publicly accessible roof terrace.
On the ground floor, the old aerial car park between the New Arsenal and the housing units will be completely transformed into a garden, accessible to the public but also accessible to housing and the city.
On the other hand, the interior spaces of the Arsenal are fully respected.
The entrance is at the level of the main central volume. It divides the plan into two parts: a north wing, accessible to the public, and a south wing which houses the restoration workshops. The library, exhibition hall, conference hall and access to the archives are therefore located in the north wing. The offices of the archivists and the director are concentrated on the first floor, above the reception, next to the garden. This allows independent access and simplified operation with Geneva state offices on both sides.

Location
Geneva
Type
Civic
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2018
Size (m²)
8.500

Client
Ville de Genève
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Antoine Chaudemanche, Rui Zenha de Pinho, Mar Garrido
Photos
XDGA-Matthias Van Rossen
234

Waterfront Park and Marina
^[more]

Vlora

Urban

Commission

Ongoing

2018–

373.500

If Vlora has one true potential hotspot, this is it. In the centre of the city’s coastline, at the end of the Boulevard and the Transbalkanike near starting point of the Vlora Waterfront Promenade lies a site with incredible potential. Currently a dead end – the closed off central port, the area should be the real front, the – international – face of the city of Vlora and the broader region. The Vlora Waterfront Promenade (Phase 1) has set in motion a much needed revival for Vlora’s waterfront. But in the centre of the 7 kilometre waterfront lies the real challenge for the promenade, and the city. How to create a continuous waterfront experience from east to west? How to develop an attractive neighbourhood in this former port area and remake the link between Vlora and the Mediterranean?
We believe that a project that combines the continuation of the promenade and an accessible water linked program can do the trick. Sheltered by the existing piers of the port, but with good access potential and situated in the magnificent bay of Vlora the main focus area shows enormous potential to house the first Vlora Marina. The Marine is fronted by both a new public park, and a private real estate development. Linked by a monumental gallery the projects unites ample public space and a unique waterfront development, making the most of the unique location in the centre of the city’s waterfront and surrounding the historical House of Independence.

Location
Vlora
Type
Urban
Procedure
Commission
Status
Ongoing
Year
2018–
Size (m²)
373.500

Client
Albanian Development Fund (ADF) and Marina di Valona sh.p.k.
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
competition: Xaveer De Geyter, Joffrey About, Pieter Coelis, Ménélik Jobert, Jonathan Robert Maj, Emilia Ockerman, Dana Smetankova, Sophie Rouillère, Hannelore Thomas, Yannick Vergnaud
design development: Xaveer De Geyter, Pieter Coelis, with Lionel Bousquet, Pieter Coelis, Catherine Cornu, Chloé de Salins, Ménélik Jobert, Jacqueline de Souza Luduvice, Hanne Defloor, Morgan Delvaux, Karla Kovacevic, Jonathan Robert Maj, Léo Mazurek, Philip Niekamp, Anne-Sophie Rouillère, Dana Smetankova, Marie-Pierre Vandeputte, Rui Zenha
implementation: Xaveer De Geyter, Pieter Coelis, with Catherine Cornu, Chloé de Salins, Jacqueline de Souza Luduvice, Marie Debraine, Karla Kovacevic, Jonathan Robert Maj, Léo Mazurek, Anne-Sophie Rouillère, Dana Smetankova
Consultants
iRI sh.p.k. (engineering)
Jeshile sh.p.k. (landscape)
Photos
XDGA
233

Drie Fonteinen
^[more]

Beersel

Commercial

Competition

Competition

2017

8.000

On a site along the canal in Beersel near Brussels, the Drie Fonteinen brewery consists of an existing cask hall that will be expanded with a new brewery and connected craft and production programs. The new volumes are radially arranged around the existing cask-hall. A large central public space offers a panoptic view of all the surrounding functions; these functions become vitrines around this new public space. A colonnade gallery extends into the industrial column structure of the new volumes and orders both landscape and buildings. The precedent of the monastic brewery, where landscape and built forms are part of an integrated whole, is here highly relevant. The brewery is designed as part of the wider municipality. The brewery acts as a lantern on the street side, the adjacent street is traffic-calmed and the masterplan integrates a collection of different public spaces. The newly planted orchard forms part of a walking route, from which one can catch a glimpse of the brewery’s activity and which leads to the multipurpose hall/café/tasting rooms that form the centre to the collection of buildings. The public space, in the heart of the plan, can serve as marketplace, events square, beer festival, etc.

Location
Beersel
Type
Commercial
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2017
Size (m²)
8.000

Client
Private
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Doug Allard, Ménélik Jobert, Arie Gruijters, David Ampe, Emilia Ockerman
Photos
XDGA-Matthias Van Rossen
232

De Brouckère
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Brussels

Residential

Competition

Competition

2017

43.000

The urban fabric around the Place de Brouckère exists out of a historical juxta-position of varying existing urban structures. The proposed new city block is situated in between this structure and contains in its center a large cinema complex that has to remain.
We propose an urban model that is different from the neighboring structures, but has the capacity to adapt to the context. Thus, the project is clearly marked by its own identity and simultaneously it integrates easily with the existing situation. The proposal consists of a series of independent volumes with simple geometric shapes and varied heights.
The unevenness of the existing plot is addressed in the interstitial outer spaces. These spaces provide a visual and functional porosity to the whole island. Their use is of a collective nature, sometimes with public accessibility. The configuration allows for varied views from apartments as well as from the city. The notions of interior and exterior of the island disappear.
A variety of regular façade patterns, adapted to the specific programs, will ensure the homogeneity of the project. Inside these façade grids, windows, opaque fills or loggias are alternated. To ensure increased privacy of the housing, all private outdoor spaces will be loggias that can be closed.
The proposed urban model incorporates the notion of flexibility, both in the buildings and in the outdoor spaces. Most buildings can be simple adapted to be able to change their function, the use and status of outdoor spaces will be similarly flexible.

Location
Brussels
Type
Residential
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2017
Size (m²)
43.000

Client
BPI SA and IMMOBEL SA
Architect
XDGA – Xaveer De Geyter Architects
Xaveer De Geyter, Dana Vargovcíková, Therese Fritzell, Wouter Van Daele, Marie-Pierre Vandeputte
231

Maison de Médias
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Brussels

Commercial

Competition

Competition

2017

9.400

A new media district will be created on the former national television site at the border of the city of Brussels. Nowadays this site is somehow isolated from the rest of the neighbourhood, mainly because of the road infrastructure all around it. The future masterplan aims at opening up the site and turning it into a multi-functional campus, allowing it to become part of the surrounding city;
The new Media House, a combination of small institutions, start-ups, educational program and the tv channel BX1, is situated on the border of the media district site. It therefore has the potential to become the first hot spot and link between the city and the campus.
The building functions as an open public platform inserted in the sloping ground, connecting the level of the Boulevard Reyers to the media campus on the other side, 2.50 meters below. The main entrance, the restaurant and the auditorium help animating the public space of the immediate surroundings and on the covered plaza, where several activities can take place during day and night;
The different programs are stacked horizontally, allowing great flexibility; they meet through different types of connecting spaces, encouraging informal interaction between different users. The building is fully glazed; showing the animation happening on the inside. For technical reasons, the tv studios don’t require any opening to the outside. This part of the program is positioned in a black box on the top floors, creating a strong identity for the building. One large window allows the tv studios to have a permanent view onto Brussels’ skyline.

Location
Brussels
Type
Commercial
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2017
Size (m²)
9.400

Client
Société d’Aménagement Urbain / Maatschappij voor Stedelijke Inrichting
Architect
XDGA – Xaveer De Geyter Architects
Xaveer De Geyter, David Ampe, Elena Caruso, Antoine Chaudemanche, Beatrice Colaiacomo, Johan Cool, Lieven De Boeck, Jacqueline Luduvice de Souza, Ménélik Jobert, Emilia Ockerman, Greta Torsello
Consultants
Inside Outside (landscape)
Util (structure)
Studiebureau Boydens (mechanics)
Daidalos-Peutz (acoustics)
City Tools (urbanism)
Securisan (security)
Photos
XDGA-Matthias Van Rossen
227

Prado
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Marseille

Urban

Competition

Competition

2017

780

The project is conceived in the context of the 13th edition of the Manifesta Biennale, that took place in Marseille.
The site is the one of the Square Prado, a central location at the intersection of two major axes of the city.
Tackling the scale, geometry and significance of the square itself, the work, consisting of three circular rows of flag poles, materialises and at the same time frees up the Square.
At a height of 20 meters, the flag poles mediate between the neighbouring buildings’ roof lines and the trees’ foliage; each pole carries a 4x6m sports fabric flag that exalts Marseille’s specific climatic conditions and, more specifically, the presence of the Mistral.
The 43 colours utilised, which belong to the Pantone scale, are the colours needed to reproduce the flags of all nationalities and are categorised in relation to the different parts of the city they address: the reds are facing the city centre, the blues are looking towards the Sea, the greens towards the park etc. At the centre is a white flag, synthesis of all colours.
Ultimately, the work aims at questioning the symbolism attached to National flags and at celebrating unity within diversity.

Location
Marseille
Type
Urban
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2017
Size (m²)
780

Client
Métrpole Aix-Marseille-Provence
Architect
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, Antoine Chaudemanche, Lieven De Boeck, Lionel Bousquet
Consultants
Bollinger + Grohmann (stability)
Michel Desvigne Paysagiste (landscape)
Atelier Roland Jeol (lighting)
Studio Lieven De Boeck (artistic direction)
Photos
XDGA-Matthias Van Rossen
225

Masterplan SANI
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Bologna

Urban

Competition

Competition

2017

70.000

This international design competition addressed the conversion of the former SANI Barracks site in Bologna into a mix of public and private open spaces and primarily residential buildings.
The former SANI Barracks is a decommissioned military complex situated in the Navile neighbourhood, north of the historic centre of Bologna. The barracks once produced foodstuffs for the army and after the Second World War served principally as a storage depot. The object of the competition is a comprehensive masterplan providing proposals for the successive phase of operational planning. In detail, the objective is to identify a design proposal that respects the content of the listed heritage, the complex planning legislation and to define an urban structure for the renewal of the site.
In contrast with the existing situation, XDGA’s proposal is to organize the entire new building program in the form of a square inside the former enclave. This simple gesture brings a new order to the buildings’ configuration and allows for an intensive coexistence between the old and the new. The square marks a clear separation between the central public space that it surrounds and a series of collective and private spaces situated towards the outskirts of the site; The square becomes a centre for a larger public area, contains all commercial and public functions and is connected with the surroundings through a set of spatial links. The new buildings have three different heights; ranging from two story high buildings, buildings that have the same height as the existing ones and one tower that functions as a landmark to the surrounding environment.

Location
Bologna
Type
Urban
Procedure
Competition
Status
Competition
Year
2017
Size (m²)
70.000

Client
CDP Investment
Architect and landscape
XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Xaveer De Geyter, David Ampe, Elena Caruso, Johan Cool, Jacqueline Luduvice de Souza, Federico Pedrini
Consultants
MATE Engineering (structure)
Restoration ZAA (restoration)
Photos
Maxime Delvaux