Bruss-it

RVW’s proposal ‘Ruimte voor rust, ontspanning en ontmoeting met Brussel haar meest kwetsbare inwoners’, has been selected as one of the twenty Bruss-it projects by Flemish Community Commission (VGC)

With Bruss-it, the Flemish Community Commission supports Brussels-based urban changemakers who are committed to build a liveable and sustainable city. Ruimteveldwerk (RVW) responded to the project call “Collaborating for a sustainable and liveable city” by focusing on the vulnerable visitors of the humanitarian HUB on the Havenlaan. These individuals often rest in the park situated between the Havenlaan and the Herman Teirlinck building of the Flemish government. Other park users – office workers and local residents – sometimes experience a sense of pressure due to this. RVW chose to actively involve both HUB visitors and other users in the reimagining of this public space. The key challenge in this project was sharing and co-owning outdoor public areas that are accessible to all.

The section of the park along the Havenlaan lacks facilities for rest or social interaction. Therefore, RVW initiated a participatory process in which temporary, small-scale interventions were designed to make the park more welcoming for everyone. Through various stages – from thought process to the execution of an intervention – participants contributed ideas, provided feedback, and helped bring the interventions to life. A crucial condition was that the intervention would invite people to rest without turning the public space into a sleeping area: addressing the need for rest among vulnerable visitors, while avoiding nuisance.

A process of trial and error allowed valuable experience to be gained. The focus was intentionally placed on the process itself: bringing together diverse users to encourage interaction, mutual respect, and shared ownership of public space.

One of the first tangible tests involved sturdy, movable ‘sofa-benches’ – a hybrid between a hammock and a bench – designed by RVW based on feedback from HUB visitors. These sofa-benches are comfortable for short rests but not for lying down for extended periods. This marked the beginning of a dialogue between the park’s owner and the different groups of users about the future of the space.

In the next phase … more soon!

The intention was to provide custom-designed furniture to support and normalise the functions typical of a park – rest and relaxation – so that visitors to the HUB can also make dignified use of the park. At the same time, we offer an alternative to prevent people from sitting on the window frames of the office building or the private terrace of the company cafeteria, which has caused tensions with the building’s owner. In addition to facilitating the park’s function and responding to the needs of vulnerable visitors, we are also trying to address the tensions experienced by neighbours due to the use of their private seating areas. The bench seating we installed is not exclusive but available for use by all park visitors.

RVW’s Bruss-it project in the news & ‘on the road’:

Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie: Publication Bruss-it 2021-2022-2023 (NL)
Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie: Bruss-it XL inspiratiedag: ‘Ruimte solidair delen’ on 14.05.2024 (NL)

More about Bruss-it:

vgc.be

Our partners:

Humanitarian HUB (consortium of aid organisations: Médecins du Monde, Croix-Rouge de Belgique and the Citizens’ Platform for Refugee Support Belrefugees)