The renowned Belgian architect, two-times winner of the BigMat International Architecture Award (in 2013 and 2021), designed this landmark square canopy in 2006, which was finalized in 2019.
Located in the heart of an existing transport hub in Brussels, the project proposes a four-stage intervention to organize and re-qualify the public spaces and circulation both underground and on street level. A light-well patio gives way to new public programme in an aim to better connect the hubs functionality, while an impressive metal/ETFE canopy creates a landmark quality public space in the existing Rogier Square.
Project data
Place Rogier
XDGA Xaveer de Geyter in Brussels
Client: Region of Brussels Capital
Architect: XDGA (Xaveer De Geyter Architects)
Competition: Xaveer De Geyter, Wesley Aelbrecht, Pieter Coelis, Sara Noel Costa de Araujo, Piet Crevits, Yannis Igodt, Laurent Liefooghe, Dagmar Pelger, Frédéric Rasier
Implementation: Xaveer De Geyter, Tom Bonnevalle, Karel Bruyland, Sara Noel Costa de Araujo, Matthias Van Rossen, with Raphaël Cornelis, Ingrid Huyghe, Cristian Panaîté, Marie-Pierre Vandeputte
Consultants: Ney & Partners (structure) Studiebureau Boydens (mechanics)
Michel Desvigne Paysagiste (landscape) Tritel (mobility)
Photos: Francisco Guillan y Suarez, XDGA-Matthias Van Rossen
Similar to the Nørreport project and the Schuman Square, this project is about public transport in public space. Rogier Square used to be a square in front of the North railway station, until it was relocated further up north due to infrastructural reasons. The area nonetheless remained an important hub: a major subway station was built under the square, while above the ground it became an intersection for bus lines. This new condition characterized by vertical fluxes, however, failed to be translated into a qualitative space. Ultimately four major interventions were proposed.
A patio that is carved out of the subterranean infrastructure is the central element of the project. It brings daylight to the subway levels and to an underground event hall. It is nonetheless a connector as well. Access to the underground and to an existing parking garage is concentrated inside and around the patio. A 3d composition of stairs, escalators, elevators and a pedestrian bridge becomes the heart of the project.
The underground levels are reorganised. They are reoriented towards the patio, new shops are introduced and an underground link with a shopping mall on the other side of the street is redesigned.
A pedestrian strip is introduced along the north façade of the boulevard. The impact of cars is drastically reduced. Only taxis and buses are allowed on the square. While the square itself remains rather empty, the strip is accommodated with terraces, street furniture and small groups of trees. The strip is laid with white concrete panels incrusted with pebbles, the square with dark basalt stone.
In between the square and the boulevard a large circular canopy is installed that covers both the patio and the bus stop. It has a central pedestal that is used as a coffee shop. The canopy is a steel structure resting on 4 pre-existing columns that also support the underground trains. The pedestal, a volume with a rectangular ground plan based on the existing column grid, and a hexagonal ceiling integrated in the triangular structure of the roof, is shifted in plan in order to position the canopy at the centre of the square. The roof is covered with a single ETFE sheet, while the opaque triangles are made of a white PVC foil.
