Office space for Rotor and friends
Due to the high price of the disposal of mixed waste, most demolition contractors first organise the dismantling of interior elements before pulling down the walls. To design the interior of our new office space in rue de Laeken, we visited several sites where demolition was thus being prepared. We were impressed by the quantities and quality of the materials we encountered. We came across such noble materials as marble and hardwood, but also kilometres of office lighting, hundreds of fire-resistant doors with stainless steel hardware, and huge amounts of re-usable plumbing elements, bathroom sinks, radiators, etc.
We used heavy steel beams from a demolition yard in the Anneessens neighbourhood for our mezzanine. Our spiral steel staircase was found on the boardwalk a few streets further. Many of the wood panels we used were found in the dumpster of the Monnaie Opera house that was refurbishing its bar. The ceiling lights were saved just hours before they were to be smashed to make space for the new Brussels Casino at De Brouckère. For the furniture, we mostly used rejects found in containers at large office buildings.
Working on this project helped us realise that organising transport, handling, and distribution of reusable materials is far more difficult than convincing demolition companies to give access to demolition sites. Several organisations around the world provide interesting solutions to these obstacles.
Among them is the American organisation, The Reuse People, which salvages materials from demolition yards and resells them in second-hand building materials shops. Since their start in 1993, they have diverted more than 200 000 tons of materials from landfills. Most organisations active in this domain combine environmentalism with social economy: they create accessible jobs that allow difficult target groups to quickly gain useful knowledge, while selling cheap materials that can be used for renovations.
We think a similar project could be meaningful in Brussels, and should be investigated.
Designed and realized by Maarten Gielen, Tristan Boniver and Lionel Devlieger for Rotor with the help of Koen Daems, Ariane d'Hoop, Christophe Wullus, and Lasj Tsintsadze.
Pictures credits : Eric Mairiaux