What used to be an industrial site in Brussels, Belgium that was left abandoned for nearly half a century is about to reclaim its glory. The government has been submitted with plans to make Tours and Taxis the city’s newest tourist destination by converting the land into a luxurious compound.
Modern houses, restaurants, shops, office space, and greenhouses compose the grand proposal. It was designed by Vincent Callebaut Architecture, with lead architect Callebaut himself. He says he sent the masterplan to the government in late 2016 and still waits for the response if it will move forward.
The government has started renovating the existing buildings in the area over the last few years, redeveloping the 19th-century built structures which were once horse pastures owned by the founder of the Belgian postal system, the prominent Von Thurn and Tassis family. Came 20th century, they were converted into warehouses, a train station and maritime station and became the center of industry. But this declined in the 70s after Europe decided to shift to road freight transport instead of trains. Tours and Taxis became a ghost town by the 80s.
But Callebaut wants to take this Brussels location to a whole new level of landscaping.
His proposal features a 1.4 million square feet of architectural greatness, redeveloping the Tour and Taxis site situated northwest of the Brussels city center. It includes “vertical forests” having about 30,000 plants, which will be made of solid wood and cross-laminated timber. This will stretch over 300 feet tall to be powered by solar panels.
Its aesthetic focuses in green buildings, as seen in the renderings below. The grand lobby indoors, shops, apartments, restaurants, and stacked offices all have earth elements, pointing to the aim of Callebaut to make Brussels a more eco-friendly city.
Other than the mentioned main feature, the proposal includes greenhouses which would grow fruits and vegetables.
Callebaut wishes “to bring Tours and Taxis into the 21st century in terms of uses, technological progress, and innovative, sustainable building principles.”
Source: Business Insider
