The future home of Brussels Fashion and Design will open its doors in April 2017 at 10 Place du Nouveau Marché aux Grains, right in the heart of the Dansaert district. The building combines architectural grandeur and aesthetic delicacy as a brilliant response to MAD Brussels’ ambitions to become the key meeting place for Fashion and Design professionals in Brussels. The ground floor of the building will be reserved for the public sphere (exhibitions, seminars, events, etc.), while the upper floors will host the multipurpose work spaces, leaving room for creation to run free. The centre will also be a key instrument in revitalising a district in the full swing of change.
The architects’ association Vers plus de bien-être V+ and the designers from Rotor won the support of the jury thanks to a strong and simple concept: instead of doing away with the previous building, the team have chosen to value the existing structure. The original shapes have been preserved and enhanced, while scarce demolitions were carried out with surgical precision. The interior finishings—all revolving around the colour white—combine a great variety of eclectic materials, textures and patterns with fantasy. Paradoxically, it is the accumulation of assorted white elements that creates harmony between the different rooms. Created this way, the spaces play with “white cube” codes, without suffering the effects of an aseptic atmosphere.
The layout of the interior furniture—selected by Kelly Claessens of La Fabrika—reflects the richness of Brussels and Belgian design with a focus driven towards the possibility of local manufacturing. We can find, most notably, pieces by Sylvain Willenz, Alain Gilles or Alain Berteau and Jean-François D’or. Brussels creativity is likewise done justice in the signage of the building, conceived by the Brussels office Pam&Jenny. The ambition is to turn MAD Brussels into the home of all Fashion and Design professionals in Brussels: a centre for information, exchange and emulation.
