Brussels, Belgium
The project examines Navez, a social housing project located in Schaerbeek at one of the most visible northern gateways to Brussels.
Positioned on a narrow corner plot in the perspective of the Van Praet bridge, along the Lambermont boulevard, the building plays a strategic role in marking the entrance to the city while responding to a dense and complex urban context shaped by major road and railway infrastructures.
Navez by Julien Deloffre won an “Europe 40 Under 40” Award from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design, and Urban Studies.
Commissioned by the City of Schaerbeek, the project fulfills a dual ambition set by the local authorities: to contribute to the urban revalidation of the neighborhood through a strong architectural presence, and to provide exemplary, high-quality housing for large families.
Delivered by the Brussels-based studios MSA and V+, the building was awarded the Emerging Architect Prize for the international Mies van der Rohe Award.
The project occupies a very small and irregular plot at the head of a steep triangular block. Rather than fragmenting the volume, the architects chose to design the building as a single, compact form whose geometry adapts precisely to the surrounding fabric.
Its height aligns with the neighboring buildings of Navez and Portaels streets, allowing for increased residential density without breaking the existing urban scale.
This strategy reflects a guiding principle of the project: densifying vertically in order to be more generous horizontally—towards public space, light, and shared breathing areas.
The white brick facade integrates seamlessly into the dense urban landscape while asserting a contemporary identity.
The folded geometry of the main facade enhances visibility at the scale of the boulevard, while turning the domestic life of the apartments towards calmer and sunnier orientations.
A southern courtyard and a series of terraces are carved out of the volume, improving ventilation, daylight, and neighborly relations within an already dense interior block.
The building comprises five social housing units, mainly three-bedroom apartments, designed through two main typologies: three split-level duplexes and two triplex apartments at the top, each with access to a private roof terrace.
The originality of the project lies in its sectional design. A complex interplay of split-levels, interwoven staircases, and folded plans creates dynamic spatial sequences, connecting common areas with private spaces and offering multiple visual perspectives across the city.
Despite the compactness of the site, all apartments benefit from natural light from multiple orientations, outdoor spaces, generous views, and carefully articulated living areas.
At ground level, the footprint of the building is minimized to enlarge the public space and create a smooth transition between the street and the entrance hall.
Technically, the building meets passive house standards, combining a highly insulated envelope, triple glazing, balanced ventilation with heat recovery, solar panels for hot water production, and excellent acoustic comfort.
Durable materials and meticulous construction details ensure low maintenance costs and long-term resilience.
Navez demonstrates that social housing can be both ambitious and generous, advocating for a strong and inclusive architecture at the scale of the city.
Project: Navez
Architect: Julien Deloffre, Belgium
Architecture Office:Ms-a bureau d’architectes
Associate Architects:V+
Design Team: Jean-Marc Simon, Alain Simon, and Julien Deloffre
Contractor:Balcaen
Client: Municipality of Schaerbeek
Photographer: Serge Brison
