BLAF architecten

Cinoco, 95 circular rental flats in Molenbeek

The least you can say about BLAF architects is that it is a self-willed architectural firm. A firm with a vision. And integral sustainability is central to that vision. After all, that is the essence of our times, according to the firm. This attitude makes BLAF a firm that researches and experiments. For the past 20 years, they have done so extensively on a small scale: striving for efficient functionality, optimal building methods, appropriate structure, the right materialisation and form language, ... Circular building has always been part of the process. And that is what the office now wants to focus on.

According to BLAF, the biggest problem with the current way of building urban projects is that there are few or no circular ambitions because the outdated building methods do not allow for this. Therefore, they developed a hybrid construction method that is continuously optimised and allows for the full integration of necessary aspects such as energy performance, (bio)ecological materials, circularity and affordability.
The building methods and wall and floor compositions that the office tested on a small scale will now be implemented on a larger scale. This will happen in a pilot project to be built in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek: Cinoco, a project for which they are collaborating with Revive.

Revive is a forerunner in complex urban renewal projects. They transform brownfields (neglected, underused land) into future-proof, carbon-free and connected development plans. Revive and BLAF are already working together on several sustainable building projects. For Cinoco, the partners have a higher ambition in terms of circularity. After all, it is an ambitious infill project of 95 rental flats in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek. The shift from owner-occupied to rental flats is a new perspective for Revive and ensures an even greater focus on sustainability. In addition, research is underway to stimulate the social anchoring of the project by mixing several functions in Cinoco. In this way, projects such as this accelerate the revival of 'hellhole' Molenbeek.