The demand for a new office building on the Fedustria site is linked to the development of a masterplan for the wider area of The Loop. Building on the principles of ORG’s overarching study, it supports the transformation of The Loop into a vibrant, multi-modal urban district. The key lies in the introduction of a human scale, a shift away from the dominant ‘brochette model’ to a chessboard pattern.

The chessboard serves as a guide for an archipelago strategy, in which existing urban tissues are strengthened while being incorporated into a coherent whole. Like pieces in an urban board game, contiguous areas form ‘islands’, each ripe for development without sacrificing the integrity of the urban fabric. The building blocks of new development are 55x55m plots, which can be zoned as buildings, squares, parks or forests. The greater the diversity of the islands, the stronger the archipelago as a system.

The new office building will be seamlessly integrated into this archipelago city. The footprint is limited to that of the current paving on the site, so no green space is sacrificed. The volume consists of two identical volumes connected by a spiral ramp: a turntable connecting alternating split-levels. A half-buried floor supports the primary concrete skeleton. The structure of the building is a clear framework with generous excess. In the first phase, one half will serve as office space and the other half as parking for the wider area. The recessed insulated shell creates canopies and potential outdoor rooms. A second phase introduces a wooden tower stacked on top of the solid substructure. The difference in material reinforces the idea of the plinth. The transition between the two marks the cornice shared with its future neighbours.