BEING US WITH THEM
by Ward Peetermans

Master Dissertation 2021/2022 “Constructing Ecosystems” Faculty of Architecture Sint-Lucas Brussels Campus, KU Leuven Prof. Dr. Jan Wurm”

BEING US WITH THEM
by Ward Peetermans

Between 1970 and 2010, populations of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish dropped by 52% around the globe. The European Parliament plays an active part in the reconstitution of biomass and open up societies’ views to the bigger picture: to create and enter symbiotic relations between species. The project restores human’s relation with the natural world and create a new ecosystem by closed water cycled, treating soil, purifying air and welcome plants, boosting the non-human life in our urban ecosystem as much as possible.

Leopold Park was initially developed as a horticultural, zoological and amusement park to give the new inhabitants a place to walk and display their flamboyant, luxurious outfits. The Paul-Henri-Spaak building is sitting at the top of the park, currently disconnected from it. The building becomes porous maximizing its accessibility to create an open zone where nature and society could find a place together in the urban fabric.

To reconcile with nature means to welcome it to the core of our buildings as well as having our building’s living state depending on the wellbeing of nature. The Parliament is kept in place and face the natural void, pierced into the building’s volume. Law makers and non-human actors receive the same importance in the political decision-making process. The ground floor opens up to the public through different routes creating an intermediate and inclusive zone between nature and city. In this area the public can perceive and experience the importance of the transformative cycle of all life, the importance of water that is the driving line of our existence. The roof is transformed to facilitate the dialogue between the built and the living parts of the Parliament: light infiltrates the building by the punctured voids and luminous patio, while the remaining part of the greenhouse gains back its function and enriches plant diversity.

Programming in the Parliament happens by spontaneous appropriation and participation. It is by allowing and enabling disorder in the building, that it leaves room to create the unexpected. The three main stakeholders of law makers, civil society and non-human life explore new relations, interactions and rivalries they encounter. The building encourages this phenomenon by subtracting volumes and introducing a variety of room heights, introducing planted terraces accessible or kept wild. This layer improves the micro-climatic conditions in the Parliament as the soil retains water that cools down the building. Pivoting windows are added to the facade to firstly open up the visual and physical interaction as well as augmenting natural ventilation inside the volume.

“Being us with them” unites us not only in program but as well in the structure of the building. An additional wooden scaffold structure is introduced on the facade to reinforce and complement the existing concrete structures. It welcomes the non-human life such as climbing plants as support, flowering plants attracting insects, bees as well as citizens. Gardeners will take part in the maintenance of this layer acting as the mediator and mentor between nature and humans. The annual rhythm of birth, flourishing, retreat and death will be revealed by the facade, reminding the stakeholders of the cycle of all life on the planet.