a new
headquartersfor belgian defense

In January 2023, the agency and its team – Assar Architects, Artbuild Architects and VK Engineers of the Sweco Group – won the competition to design the new Headquarters for the Belgian Defense Staff in Evere, near Brussels.

On this 11.4-hectare site opposite NATO headquarters, the new 113,000 m² HQ will accommodate 4,000 employees in a secure, rational complex, a comfortable living environment and exemplary energy performance – a Nearly Zero Energy Building.

This project represents a significant new stage in the agency’s 10-year investment in Belgium, already renewed in 2019 with the successful bid for the new NATO Military Command Center in Casteau, and in 2021 with the opening of a branch in Brussels.

strategic
and symbolic

The project is both strategic, in terms of the ambition to write a new page in the history of the Belgian Army, and symbolic, in terms of the institutional representation it represents. This building, destined to become the new icon of national defense, is rationally designed to guarantee the safety and well-being of its users, the operationality of its spaces and the control of the ecological footprint of its construction.

The symbol can be read in the balance of forces: the building’s formal triangle evokes stability and links three vectors, three entities. It represents the communications of all the armies in the three Belgian regions. Directed towards and open to NATO HQ, it provides a balanced link between the various program entities, as well as between the various institutions.

a protective
envelope

The exterior façade plays a protective role, guaranteeing Defense’s ability to carry out its missions in complete privacy and confidentiality. Noble, durable materials, solid and timeless; a massive, resistant envelope whose modenations ensure sun protection and the discretion of interior activities.

White, luminous and homogeneous, it also reveals its second skin as it moves: an unsettling vibration obtained by working on the kinetic perception of the building. Colored verticals that vary according to the observer’s orientation enrich the perception of the building and give it a singularity – a discreet tribute to the camouflage of armies.

an agora
and a garden

In the center, the obvious circle for an “agora garden”. A circular patio, like a beating heart for the La Défense community: it organizes fluid team communication on all levels and a democratic distribution of workspaces. It’s also a contemplative garden that creates a delicate, soothing environment, offering a multiplicity of places for welcoming visitors, collaborative activities or solitary relaxation.

Ancillary buildings complete the main facility. A 300-seat conference center with numerous meeting rooms is accessible to the public from the avenue, while a third building houses a crèche and the offices of the Office Central d’Action Sociale et Culturelle de la Défense.

anearly zero energy
building

The entire project is woven into a landscape mesh, providing a visual and ecological link between the Parc Métropolitain to the south and the tree-lined urban corridor of Boulevard Léopold III to the north. The landscape unfolds from north to south like a woven web, alternating between densely planted areas, a central garden, pedestrian paths and herbaceous strata. Sophisticated studies in terms of hydraulic engineering and soil permeability make it possible to turn these spaces into real natural breathing spaces, supporting the maintenance of biodiversity in the city and contributing to a balance between built-up and vegetated areas.

In energy terms, the new headquarters ensures normal operation without fossil fuel combustion. It thus ensures an energy transition towards a carbon-neutral and sustainable infrastructure, in line with the French National Energy and Climate Plan, thanks to high-performance thermal insulation and the use of renewable energy sources such as geothermal, photovoltaic and heat pumps.

PROJECT TEAM

MANAGEMENT PROJECT
Lead architect: Assar Architects
Associated architects: ANMA Architectes Urbanistes, ArtBuild Architects
Engineers: VK Engineers, part of Sweco
Environment: Cegelec Belgium, Vinci Energies Belgium
Landscaper: Erik Dhont

COMPETITION
Philippine Davout, Sarah Eyermann, Manon Gourvennec, Xavier Muller, Théo Fakis

STUDIES
Philippine Davout, Sarah Eyermann, Aurélie Perrin, Cynthia Dieudonné, Julia Schultz

COMPANIES
Jan De Nul Group, AB-Eiffage, BAM Interbuild BV

TECHNICAL SHEET

STATUS On-going research

PROJECT MANAGEMENT Belgian Ministry of Defence

CALENDAR 2023-2027

SURFACE 113,000 m² SU

WORKS 500 M€ HT

OUTLOOK ORBRS Graphic Agency

SEE +
Aix-en-Provence, Les Fenouillères
Casteau, NATO military command center
Paris, Ministère de la Défense