La Chaufferie

Programme: Rehabilitation of the former boiler room of the University of Labor of Charleroi with a view to fitting out a Design Competence Center

About: The project consists of the rehabilitation of the former boiler room of the University of Labor of Charleroi with a view to fitting out a Design Competence Center there. The project aims to be exemplary in terms of circularity and seeks to reveal the spatial riches emanating from the tensions established between the requirements of a given program and the formal particularities of a pre-existing place. The foundations of the proposed transformation are based on three principles: Taking into account the strength of the architecture in place and its relationship to the context. Each action is measured and evaluated, taking into account the primary characteristics of what exists. The preservation and intensification of the spatial qualities of the place of origin: the existing structures are now “inhabited” and the space, in its essence, survives. Maintaining the largest existing surfaces available as “public”, interpretable and modular territories (meeting spaces, exhibition spaces, cafeteria) The project demonstrates the unlimited potential for transformation and reconversion of the very rich industrial heritage of our regions.