WALKSPACE
WALKSPACE
The Palace of Justice is a historic landmark, but one that disrupts Brussel’s urban fabric and needs constant updates to function. Walkspace is a scheme to reinvigorate the Palace of Justice—not by renovating the building itself but transforming the space around it.
Year → 2011
Status → Competition
Team → de baes architects & ecofab
Inaugurated in 1883, the Palace of Justice is the seat of Belgium’s highest courts and icon of Brussels. But, the historic landmark is quickly becoming outdated for the operations of a modern court system, and—with its grand neo-classical design and imposing place in the Brussels cityscape, the Palace of Justice has long been a physical and visual obstacle that disrupts urban connectivity. The Palace stands apart from the city in a desolate plaza atop a sheer hill. It looms over the lower neighbourhood to the north, exacerbating the spatial and psychological separation between the two areas of the city.
While piecemeal interior renovations are ongoing, we took the opportunity to imagine how we could reinvigorate the building by transforming its surroundings. Walkscape is an urban intervention that introduces a gentle public slope along the edge of the Palace of Justice complex, stitching the two areas together and opening the Palace to the public.
Connecting the Palace with the Public
We propose inserting a titled public square that connects the neighbourhood at the base of the hill to the Palace of Justice. Walkspace extends the commercial activity and street life of Avenue Louise up the hill with activated urban walkways and new public amenities, plugging the judicial complex into the existing city. The zig-zagging path also creates new perspectives of the Palace of Justice and the surrounding urban panorama, celebrating the building as a civic icon and integral part of Brussels. The project is planned to minimize disruption to the existing buildings, instead building on the vacant public spaces between judicial buildings.
Sustainable Urbanism: Modular, Mixed-Use Spaces
The ramp takes an 8m x 8m grid format, creating a flexible stack of spaces for a range of public and judicial functions. To open the court to the public, the base of the ramp houses exhibition galleries and a visitors centre that showcase its history and explore its purpose. Just below, a car park takes cars off the street, making the neighbourhood more pedestrian-friendly. Urban amenities line the perimeter of the ramp, including cafes, boutiques, community meeting points, and cultural destinations. The upper levels house court documents and archives, creating much-needed storage for the overtaxed building. Modular lots create opportunities for future development that enhance the urban realm with cultural amenities and support the court operations with auxiliary storage, security, and offices.
