Within contemporary urban fabrics, buildings from different eras require functional, typological and aesthetic integration into contemporary architecture. The ill-considered demolition of many buildings, especially monumental ones, has become less and less common; their historical value has been recognised and their conservation is also considered environmentally sound. Students in the TRAME (Territoire Réaffectation Architecture Mémoire Matérialité Empathie) workshop at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) are examining the transformations of some of these buildings through concrete projects, resulting from an architecture competition, guided by teachers Gil Honoré, Hubert Lionnez, Vincent Pierret and Wouter Van Acker.

For the 2023/2024 academic year, students are looking at the repurposing of three Belgian town halls, each of which combines representation and municipal administration as the mayor’s office. The concrete nature of these projects prompts reflection on the context, history and consequences of the transformation. They have been made necessary by changes in the world of work, the needs of workers and the demographics of communities.