- Location: Vilvoorde, Belgium
- Program: Innovation hub, Hotel, Healthcare center
- Area: 9.221 m²
- Year: 2023
- Status: Completed
The assignment given to UAU collectiv for Living Tomorrow can only be described as extraordinary. First and foremost, Living Tomorrow is an innovation platform for customers, partners, markets, and government connections. Its ambition is to act as a catalyst that significantly accelerates innovation. The new Innovation Campus in Vilvoorde is an innovation hub and living laboratory. Together with their partners, they want to make an impact and spotlight innovations that contribute to a sustainable future. They also strive to make these innovations accessible to the general public.
UAU collectiv created the initial concept sketches to house all these activities in one tower. Living Tomorrow, together with its partners, has refined this concept and started construction. UAU collectiv was once again called upon to ensure that the original vision was brought back into focus. We returned to the essence. The tower is the external manifestation of a stacked program (experience rooms, innovative health center, hotel, and rooftop experience) on the smallest possible footprint.
The concrete skeleton forms the core of the building, capable of adapting to future flexible uses. The facade captures a snapshot of innovation and can be replaced in the future with hybrid and energy facades. But why the blue? The various materials were reduced to their essence. To achieve a unified character, a single color extends through all the materials, ensuring that their individual designs are subordinated to the whole. The blue silhouette enters into a dialogue with the Belgian sky, shifting from grey to light, from light to dark blue.
The basic architecture must be robust enough to allow for future flexibility without drastically altering its architectural presence.