Quatuor

Quatuor is a remarkable office project located at the gateway to Brussels's Noordwijk neighborhood. Developed by Befimmo with Jaspers-Eyers Architects, it comprises four compact structures spanning 60,000 square meters. The project's key inspiration was to create a sustainable environment that integrates harmoniously with the urban landscape.

Jaspers-Eyers Architects opted for playful, organic shapes, resulting in curved facades that offer a unique character.Quatuor's spatial configuration plays a crucial role in its design. The compact, triangular structures with rounded corners create captivating curved facades, inviting the public into the inner courtyard. By blending organically with the urban landscape, the structures integrate seamlessly. Diagonal lines of sight between the structures eliminate closed spaces.

Quatuor's facade combines solid and transparent elements to enhance energy efficiency. Vertical fins with solar panels limit glass surfaces and add an aesthetic touch. Carefully selected lighting highlights these features at night, transforming the building's appearance.

Quatuor holds the prestigious BREEAM "Outstanding" label, thanks to its sustainable design. The choice of aluminium exterior joinery perfectly aligns with this commitment, providing high insulation, ecological advantages, and recyclability.

Despite its size, Quatuor maintains airiness and unity in diversity. The four structures blend harmoniously with the urban landscape, offering transparency and public space. Quatuor establishes a meaningful relationship with its environment.
Quatuor is a shining example of sustainable architecture and innovative design. With its striking aesthetics, energy efficiency, and meticulous attention to detail, it adds a remarkable touch to Brussels's urban fabric.

Where the Baudouin building used to stand in Brussels, there now shines Quatuor, a modern workplace with striking architecture. The building produces 30% of its own energy, has a rainwater recycling system and meets the Passive House standard. This has earned the project its BREEAM “Outstanding” label, a prestigious certificate lauding buildings that help create sustainable environments. The aluminium exterior joinery therefore fits perfectly into this story, as aluminium is highly insulating, ecological and 100% recyclable.

A quartet of buildings with sustainable solutions by Reynaers Aluminium
To leave the stateliness of the Baudouin building behind, Jaspers-Eyers Architects opted for playful, organic shapes. Both inside and outside, you will notice curved façades. Beautiful, but much more complex than a straight building form. Fortunately, Reynaers Aluminium was able to provide a suitable solution!

Did you know that Quatuor is a very green building? It received the BREEAM “Outstanding” label, a testimony to the project’s contribution to a more sustainable environment. In fact, the aluminium exterior joinery fits perfectly into this story, as aluminium is highly insulating, ecological and 100% recyclable.

For example, the bottom two floors consist of ConceptWall 50 façade systems, which offer maximum light penetration. The slim profiles create a nice contrast between the open base and closed upper storeys. The floors above include bespoke ConceptWall 86-EF/SG elements, cassette based with internal fixation in a tasteful white colour, providing a modern look. Insulation was also considered. Reynaers Aluminium window systems have excellent thermal properties, especially in combination with triple glazing.

Highly insulating and 100% recyclable
Aluminium provides excellent insulation against cold and heat and meets all the latest energy efficiency requirements. These strong insulation properties are further optimised with Reynaers Aluminium solutions. Aluminium is 100% recyclable and can be reused without loss of quality. Moreover, recycling aluminium requires a minimum of energy.

Aluminium is extremely durable too. UV rays or moisture have no adverse effects and aluminium does not rust or rot. For these exact reasons, the material is used in buildings for a very long time. The life cycle of aluminium windows and doors is more than 40 years on average, but often they even last well over 60 years! During this long life cycle, our solutions contribute to the energy efficiency of any building, including Quatuor.

Our continuous focus on research and development results in energy-efficient solutions for low-energy or even energy-neutral homes and buildings. Thanks to their excellent insulating properties, they reduce the environmental impact of new and existing buildings. Finally, the limited maintenance of aluminium windows and doors reduces their environmental impact even further during their life cycle.

Virtual mock-up in Avalon
With a project of this size, there are always some challenges. Nevertheless, risks were mitigated by first creating a virtual mock-up of Quatuor in Avalon.

Avalon is a Virtual Reality application developed specifically for architectural applications. With the help of our tool, architects can walk around their design and immediately get a clear picture of the possibilities and the impact of their choices on the appearance of the building. In this way, decisions are immediately checked against practical feasibility, while technical problems become clear even to non-technicians. This saves a huge amount of time during the decision-making process.

Additionally, there was also extensive technical preparation. At the Reynaers Aluminium Test Centre, air and water tightness were checked. Additional acoustic measures were even taken on the Brussels ring road in order to reduce the ambient noise caused by near traffic.

Considering this detailed visualisation and testing process, Reynaers Aluminium clearly wants to be more than just a supplier of high-quality profile systems. We share our expertise and help find customised solutions for every challenge.