The former Renault factory in Vilvoorde is one of Belgium’s most iconic industrial landmarks. The site forms part of a 150-metre-wide strip between the Vilvoorde viaduct and the town centre on one side, and the Schaarbeeklei and the railway line on the other. This historic industrial area has been designated as a catalyst site for a radical transformation into a dynamic urban environment combining logistics, industry, leisure and public amenities.
Under the guidance of Team Vlaams Bouwmeester and commissioned by the City of Vilvoorde, the design team comprising GAFPA, RE-ST, Kollektif and Suunta developed an integrated vision in which urban planning, mobility, landscape, public space and architecture come together in a visual quality plan.
The landscape serves as the foundation of the design, acting as a driving force for climate adaptation. The existing factory structures are interpreted as ‘intelligent ruins’ that create new urban possibilities whilst preserving the site’s iconic identity.
To reconnect the site, which has become organically silted up, with the surrounding urban fabric, the masterplan introduces the building block as a structuring principle. Between these building blocks, spacious green park areas are created, opening up new sightlines from the cross streets towards Schaarbeeklei. The former Renault factory is reintegrated into its surroundings by taking the existing cornice as a reference point. Its distinctive structure — a concrete slab topped by a light steel structure — forms the basis for a horizontal division that is carried through the entire development. The striking bridge over Broekstraat is also retained and takes on a new significance as a monumental city gateway.
The urban planning vision is, above all, an exercise in creating space: space for water and climate resilience, for new green parks and the reopening of the Woluwe, but also space for sustainable mobility. The Schaarbeeklei is being redesigned to benefit pedestrians and cyclists, whilst logistics movements are being consolidated along a new axis on the railway side. It is not the programme, but the existing condition of the site that forms the starting point: maximum reuse forms the basis for new urban potential.
