Context - Leong Jiang Ling 1001436853

"The new possibilities of mechanical mobility that sustained the escape from the busy and crowded city right into the countryside"

Context is a concept that most architect today will like to consider and apply for their design. The role of context in architecture today is very much important that affect the design of a building. It talks about the site, the culture, the environment, and also the population by the surrounding.

"For the task before us is to satisfy men's hearts," said by Le Corbusier. For a very project of architect made is to satisfy the client or the environment, that architect may be wanted to design a better environment for tackling the issues of the context.

And here come with a building "Eco-Neighbourhood in Brussels" by Vincent Callebaut Architectures.

Eco-Neighbourhood in Brussels

It is a building that covers an area of 135,000 square meters, and the construction of three residential “vertical forests” reaching 100 meters in height. Its vision is a neighborhood which embraces technological progress, sustainable building principles, and renewal of the built heritage.

The 40,000 square meter terminal is set to be transformed into an eco-campus for work and relaxation. The glass 'vessel' will host their own architectural identities. Contrasting with the industrial wrought iron of the existing structure, the eco-campus will be constructed of solid wood and cross-laminated timber, reducing the scheme's carbon footprint. "Urban form is seen as possessing a life of its own, irrespective of use, culture and economic conditions", said by Tom Schumacher.

Other than that, it also created a versatile mixed-use campus with open-space offices, sport and leisure spaces, retail, bars, restaurants, and greenhouses. 85,000 square meters of multiple-scale housing contained in three "vertical forests." 

Large rooftop with elegant curves contains fruits and vegetable balconies, and an abundance of solar panels. The combination of solar and the design had brought into this design and it fulfills the concept of a context city area design, as Jane Jacobs tackle for the unsuccessful city area that lacks "the science of city planning and the art of city design."

There is also a large marsh pond that attracts Brussel's biodiversity. A marsh pond that will be provided space for events, exhibits, and an open-air auditorium. It is a design that closes to architecture today that Le Corbusier said, "the architect who is attempting to build a house or a home for any member of mankind today must be guided by a modern consciousness."

Reference

Luis Santiago Baptista, http://www.mascontext.com/tag/le-corbusier/

Niall Patrick Walsh, Vincent Callebaut Architectures' Plans for Eco-Neighbourhood in Brussels, 21 Jan 2017,
http://www.archdaily.com/803549/vincent-callebaut-architectures-plans-for-eco-neighbourhood-in-brussels

Le Corbusier, Excerpts From The Radiant City. First Published in 1935, 278-279.

Tom Schumacher, Contextualism: Urban Ideals And Deformations, First Published in 1971, 299.

Jane Jacobs, Excerpts From The Death And Life Of Great American Cities, First Published in 1961, 291.