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Park Lane II Provides More Opportunities for Living at Tour & Taxis

Park Lane

With Park Lane II, developer Nextensa is further shaping the Tour & Taxis site in Brussels. To ensure the large-scale residential project is sufficiently diverse, three different architecture firms were engaged. The focal points? Establishing common design principles in advance to work efficiently (together), and internally assembling larger teams to meet the tight deadline.

After serving as an economic hub in the past, Tour & Taxis has now become a magnet for working, living, and relaxing. The Park Lane residential area is currently being expanded with a second phase. The entire development includes 11 buildings and 319 residential units, covering a total area of 36,500 m². The entire site features one large underground parking area of 9,000 m².

 

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Diversity in Various Aspects

We've been involved with the project since 2020, starting with the tender study as our first task. Construction began in 2022. Currently, some buildings are already completed, while others are still in full swing of finishing touches. The client has consciously chosen three different designers - awg architecten, Sergison Bates architects, and noAarchitecten - resulting in different atmospheres, materials, and detailing. There's also a mix of more expensive and more affordable housing units, and the Jaydon block was handed over to the social housing corporation at the beginning of the project to foster a diverse resident community.

To efficiently collaborate with three different architecture firms in a large and particularly time-sensitive project, we established some underlying principles beforehand. These principles covered aspects like terrace structures and wall detailing, providing both us and the contractor with the advantage of a certain level of uniformity. The architects still have enough freedom in the finishing touches - such as facade cladding - to set their own accents. It's also notable that the three architectural teams act as one team, which significantly smoothens the collaboration process.

 

park lane

 

Even within our own organization, we had to switch gears quickly. To meet the tight schedule, we expanded the 'classic' teams of 1 engineer, 1 draftsman, and 1 project leader, with up to 6 people working full-time at the peak of the project. Our size allows us to adapt flexibly to these demands.

 

Design of prefabricated terraces

In residential projects, prefabricated terraces are often used, where we, as the structural engineer, typically review the contractor's design. However, in this project, we took on the design ourselves, considering not only the structural integrity but also thermal effects due to temperature fluctuations.

 

park lane

 

'Finishings train' rolls on

Currently, the project is still under construction. The contractor is constructing several buildings simultaneously, in a cascading manner. While rough construction continues in certain areas, there's also a 'finishings train' with trades such as services working on other buildings to complete them. These overlapping construction phases require a great deal of planning and coordination.

 

park lane

 

Focus on Sustainability

A distinctive feature of this project is its strong emphasis on sustainability. For example, the vast construction pit necessitates pumping out a significant amount of groundwater, particularly because the foundation slab is below the water table. Instead of draining this water through the sewers, it is retained on-site to fill a newly created pond. For the soil that has been excavated, inland water transport will be utilized through the nearby Willebroek Canal, significantly reducing the number of trucks entering the city center.

 

Building Partners:

 

park lane

 

park lane