A utopian return for Brussels

This project aims to provide a solution to a problem plaguing contemporary society and lifestyle. Initially, references were analyzed, ranging from the father of Utopia, Thomas More, to the socialist utopias of the Industrial Revolution, and even current case studies such as "The Line" in Saudi Arabia. Subsequently, by analyzing contemporary society, a central theme was chosen: "The Artificialization of Soil." Indeed, permeable soils are increasingly being covered by mineral material that alters their natural characteristics, creating significant problems for ecosystems if left unchecked. The project aims to reduce artificialization by densifying only Belgian cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants. The means to achieve this is the construction of compact cities. In each of the new compact cities, a complementary building will be constructed that follows the road axis outside the city and can accommodate all the residents who move into the city from the suburbs and the countryside. This element draws on the ancient idea of city walls as shelter. Each compact city will accommodate a number of new residents proportional to the city's population. Therefore, thanks to compact cities, in the case of Belgium, it will be possible to limit the artificialization of the territory to 5 percent, leaving the majority of the land in its natural state. The project illustrated presents the case of the city of Brussels.
The perimeter building that will be built on ring 0 will accommodate 2,000,000 new residents spread across 20 floors.