51N4E

At the initiative of the President of the French Republic, the international Quartiers de Demain consultation aims to transform ten neighborhoods and create a national dynamic in support of urban policies of the 21st century. The consultation will enable the realization of projects that will have an impact across the neighborhoods and beyond, addressing the needs of local inhabitants and making an exemplary contribution to the ecological transition. 51N4E participated in the Quartier de Saige site in Pessac, which consists of the refurbishment and adaptive reuse of Tower 8, with the potential for replication, as well as the development of a green corridor linking the neighborhood to the town center and university campus. Our project aims to bring new life to this neighborhood and to reconnect with its ambitions of fifty years ago, not through grand gestures, but through a renewal grounded in what already exists. Small but precise interventions can have a significant impact. The 51N4E project for Saige is based on a simple idea: making the most of what already exists in order to fully reveal its potential. It includes a carefully renovated tower, an active ground floor with a generous new volume that allows for new productive functions, and the creation of three urban centralities that diversify uses while preserving the identity of the neighborhood. With Aïda , Artelia, atmos lab, Creaspace, Cronos Conseil, Diese, Egitura, ETABLISSEMENT paysage Lafayette Architectes Urbanistes Plan Común and VPEAS Credits : 51N4E (6,10,11), Out Of RAM (1,7,8), ESAAC Pessac Saige (2), Simon Nicoloso (3,4,5), Plan Común (9) Quartiers de demain #Quartiersdedemain #Pessac

ZIN in No(o)rd wins “Best High-Rise Building in the World 2025”! We’re thrilled to announce that the ZIN in No(o)rd project in Brussels, designed by 51N4E, l'AUC, and Jaspers-Eyers Architects, has been awarded the prestigious title of Best High-Rise Building in the World 2025 by the Council on Vertical Urbanism (CVU, formerly Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)). The award was announced during the CVU’s annual conference in Toronto, among entries from 24 countries. In addition to the top prize, ZIN also won in the categories Best Tall Building (100–199 m) and Best Tall Building Europe.   ZIN in No(o)rd transforms the emblematic WTC I and II towers in Brussels’ Northern Quarter into a new hybrid building. The project connects the existing towers through a new volume of 14-storey double-height floors, mixing workspaces, housing, a hotel, sports and leisure areas, retail, and lots of vegetation. This radical approach to reuse and adaptability redefines the way we imagine large-scale urban buildings in Europe, turning an obsolete office complex into a resilient, flexible and future-oriented environment.   Congratulations to all teams involved and to everyone who contributed to this ambitious transformation! Pictures by Maxime Delvaux #Architecture #Urbanism #ZINinNoord #Brussels #AdaptiveReuse #HighRise #Award #Design #Sustainability #51N4E

In a shifting geopolitical and economic landscape, ambition for climate action remains essential, but must be matched with pragmatism. As architects and engineers, we’re facing a new reality: – Rising cost of capital – Uncertain material supply chains – Increasing pressure to reduce carbon emissions In this context, renovation must evolve. Our approach? Revalue the existing buildings as much as possible. This strategy not only reduces risk and costs, it also significantly reduces the environmental footprint of construction. By working with what is already there - structure, materials, systems - we extend lifespans, preserve embodied carbon, and deliver resilient, sustainable solutions rooted in the realities of today. 💡 It’s time to rethink renovation, not as a compromise, but as a strategic, climate-positive design choice. Let’s build forward, with care, intention, and precision. #architecture #engineering #renovation #climateaction #sustainabledesign #reuse #carbonreduction #lowtech #transformation Picture: Climate ceiling panels carefully dismantled and stored on site, ready to be reused in the renovation. A pragmatic and low-carbon approach to building transformation.

PORTE DE LA VILLETTE - MOMENTS OF COLLECTIVE LIFE Since May 2024, the 51N4E team has had the opportunity to take part in the competitive dialogue for the transformation of Porte de la Villette, organised by @paris_maville and @parisetmetropoleamenagement Over the last 20 years, 51N4E has experimented with different approaches to addressing and designing adaptive infrastructure projects across Europe. Our team’s approach builds on adaptive infrastructure - exploring how, even though minimal and targeted interventions, we can transform these structures and reclaim them as spaces for collective life and room for future adaptations. As a robust, flexible framework for working with different agendas and timeframes. Our consortium of experts for the transformation of Porte de la Villette included @51N4E, Plan Común BASELAND ANG Artelia Group L'Effet Urbain @manifestoparis, Atelier Franck Boutté, Nat&Vie and @charlesdaubas Our proposal followed 4 ambitions: 1. Make room! By reinventing the infrastructure, let it find its rightful place as the legacy of a past city and the starting point for a new history. 2. Make life possible tomorrow: by deploying a 9-hectare park system as a network of refuges, a landscaped, climatic, reversible and refreshing framework. 3. Caring: by welcoming all the worlds that converge here, and responding to their uses and needs, whether fragile or festive, collective or individual, domestic or metropolitan. 4. Enabling the city to become habitable: through an architecture that rediscovers its natural anchorage to the earth, to the soil, and to urban life. So that it draws from it both the peace and the energy of the city. La Mairie du 19e arrondissement Plan Común Est Ensemble Ville d’Aubervilliers Ville de Pantin Direction de l’immobilier de l’Etat Préfecture de Police SNCF IMMOBILIER ESPACES FERROVIAIRES RATP Dev Agnès Bastin Kristiaan Borret Susanne Eliasson Grau Design Office Léa Hommage (LALU) Alexandre Labasse - Apur - Atelier parisien d'urbanisme Sonia Lavadinho Marion Waller Pavillon de l'Arsenal #VilledeParis #Urbanisme #adaptativereuse #PortedelaVillette #Paris19 #architecture #publicspace #environment #urbantransformation #51n4e #plancomun #portedelavillette

PORTE DE LA VILLETTE – COMMANDERIE, Hybrid Socio-Economic Model Since May 2024, the 51N4E team has had the opportunity to take part in the competitive dialogue for the transformation of Porte de la Villette, organised by @paris_maville and @parisetmetropoleamenagement The complexity of the site goes beyond the redefinition of road infrastructure; it also involves the reuse of the site's existing assets, such as the buildings, in particular, the Commanderie. An abandoned hypermarket and parking lot are located transversely beneath the ring road. Our proposal, along with Plan Común was to propose a realistic and holistic approach (technical, social, environmental, and economic framework), to transform the building itself to create a new, unifying, and welcoming central hub, open towards Porte de la Villette. The architectural intervention on the Commanderie draws inspiration from two models: The Mosque of Cordoba, a palimpsest structure that has evolved alongside the major ideas of its time, and the SESC Pompeia in São Paulo, widely known for the quality and hospitality of its architecture, as well as for its programming and innovative economic model focused on the well-being of the local population. A hybrid model where profitable economic activities coexist with a strong commitment to the common good. A vibrant, efficient living space where multiple functions come together: co-working spaces, a health center, a youth hostel, a gym, a restaurant, and a large multipurpose hall. This mix of public and community services, combined with paid services will bring "Centrale" to life 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, ensuring a strong, continuous presence on the site. Our consortium of experts, 51N4E, Plan Común BASELAND ANG Artelia Group, L'Effet Urbain, Manifesto Paris, Atelier Franck Boutté, Nat&Vie and @charlesdaubas La Mairie du 19e arrondissement Plan Común Est Ensemble Ville d’Aubervilliers Ville de Pantin Direction de l’immobilier de l’Etat Préfecture de Police SNCF IMMOBILIER ESPACES FERROVIAIRES RATP Dev Agnès Bastin Kristiaan Borret Susanne Eliasson Grau Design Office Léa Hommage (LALU) Alexandre Labasse Apur - Atelier parisien d'urbanisme Sonia Lavadinho Marion Waller Pavillon de l'Arsenal #VilledeParis #Urbanisme #adaptativereuse ##PortedelaVillette #Paris19 #architecture #publicspace #environment #urbantransformation #51n4e #plancomun #portedelavillette

PORTE DE LA VILLETTE, NOUVELLES HOSPITALITES Since May 2024, the 51N4E team has had the opportunity to take part in the competitive dialogue for the transformation of Porte de la Villette, organized by @paris_maville and @parisetmetropoleamenagement Our consortium of experts included 51N4E, Plan Común BASELAND ANG Artelia Group L'Effet Urbain Manifestoparis, Atelier Franck Boutté, Nat &Vie and charlesdaubas. Porte de la Villette, New Hospitalities, has been committed to developing a vision that is deeply shared and open; a vision shaped at the intersection of communities, collective histories, and landscapes. Excerpt from our final phase statement, February 2025 (EN) / (FR) in comment Porte de la Villette has long lost the first quality of a gateway: hospitality. The major networks have settled here, ignoring local connections; the quality of passing through has developed at the expense of the site’s habitability. The ground has been disturbed, reduced to the mere support of infrastructural logic, forgetting that this land was once fertile and welcoming. Porte de la Villette can be seen as a space ruled by the law of the strongest, where the weakest ties and uses must find a place in the in-between spaces, making do with what is left to them. A space where every simple, human desire is met with resistance. We believe the project must not only transform the built and landscaped context, but must also help to change the rules of the game. It must establish the conditions for exchange and lasting hospitality; otherwise, it risks addressing only the symptoms of a lack of dialogue, and in doing so, merely perpetuating the logic of a space captured by dominant functions. La Mairie du 19e arrondissement Plan Común Est Ensemble OFFICE PUBLIC DE L'HABITAT DE LA VILLE D'AUBERVILLIERS Ville de Pantin Direction de l’immobilier de l’Etat Préfecture de Police SNCF IMMOBILIER ESPACES FERROVIAIRES RATP Dev Agnès Bastin Kristiaan Borret Susanne Eliasson (GRAU) Grau Design Office Léa Hommage (LALU) Alexandre Labasse (Apur) Apur - Atelier parisien d'urbanisme Sonia Lavadinho Marion Waller Pavillon de l'Arsenal #VilledeParis #Urbanisme #adaptativereuse ##PortedelaVillette #Paris19 #architecture #publicspace #environment #urbantransformation #51n4e #plancomun #portedelavillette

We’re excited to share that the Startnota for the redevelopment of the Turnhoutsebaan in Antwerp has officially been validated; a key milestone in launching the ambitious transformation. The Turnhoutsebaan is on the one hand an important urban mobility infrastructure for bicycles, public transport (bus + metro) and cars. On the other hand, the street is also an important neighbourhood infrastructure with a lot of local shops and amenities and a lack of qualitative public and green space.   The Startnota describes the future mobility system with an integrated strategy of “voorpleinen” (public spaces along the street) that link important social functions along the Turnhoutsebaan and establish connections between the northern and southern parts of the surrounding neighbourhood. The location of the voorpleinen was decided in an extensive participation trajectory with local organisations and inhabitants.   Our role 51N4E Acte is proud to be part of this project. We take up the role of project coordination and the integrated public space design. Together with TRACTEBEL (mobility and infra engineering) and Endeavour (participation and communication).   In collaboration with our partners We’re working closely together with the client Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer Antwerpen and Waterlink, as well as with the partners in the project Stad Antwerpen and De Lijn.   Next steps With the start note approved, the project moves into the next phase. The design will be further detailed into a climate adaptive public space, tackling water and heat challenges, integrating safe and qualitative active mobility, offering landscape qualities and public space to the surrounding neighbourhood. The plan is to hand in the permit end of 2025 and start the construction works in 2026. Site visit photos by Sepideh Farvardin #51N4EActe Plant en Houtgoed bv #PeterBach

We’re happy to announce the start of an ambitious project to rehabilitate the Simonis site in Koekelberg. Launched by Beliris the project is divided into two main phases: a feasibility study to analyse the site and develop practical scenarios, followed by a conditional masterplan to outline a clear vision for its future. The project builds upon the groundwork laid by the Urban Renewal Contract (CRU 6) Autour de Simonis, conducted in 2022 by 51N4E with TRACTEBEL, CSD Ingenieurs and Cityspark. This project encompasses urban planning, architecture, sustainability, mobility, and community involvement. The goal is to transform Simonis into a dynamic multimodal hub and a welcoming public space, with a strong emphasis on sustainable urban practices to reduce urban heat islands, increase greenery, and improve rainwater management. In collaboration with CityTools, TRACTEBEL and Plant en Houtgoed bv, we’re committed to making Simonis a resilient, inclusive, and environmentally friendly place for everyone. Pictures by Sepideh Farvardin & Aya Akbib