2023-07-15 01:00:34
July 15, 2023 Today at 03:00
For the past few months, rooftops installed at the top of buildings in Brussels have been sprouting up like mushrooms. Overview of an urban phenomenon.
In recent months, we have seen the emergence of a grand name of rooftops on the roofs of hotels and other buildings in the capital. One of the latest to open is the Rooftop 58installed at the top of Brucitythe building that houses the administrative offices of the city of Brussels.
The least we can write is that success is there. Philippe Close, the mayor of Brussels, does not hide his satisfaction on this point. “Rooftops are an extraordinary marketing tool”, he exclaims, rejoicing at the idea that people can go for a drink at the top of an administration, on the roofs of buildings usually marked with the seal of the bureaucratic dullness.
1,3 million €
The amount invested by LO Group, Jardin and Les Filles to develop Rooftop 58.
Big investments…
“Initially, this rooftop was reserved for administrationthen we decided to activate it, to start operating a bar on the roof and a restaurant on the floor below the roof”, explains the mayor, acknowledging in passing the work of Pascal Smet, the former Secretary of State for Town Planning, for the occupation of the roofs of the city. “We owe him a lot, he immediately believed in it, he saw in the rooftops a different urban dynamic.”
In this regard, there is reason to distinguish temporary rooftops, THE definitive and those, more numerous, developed by hotels. Years late, it seems that Brussels has decided to follow the example of other European capitals and the city pushes clearly today developing new projects. For hotels, it is essentially a question of standing out and offering a new experience in an increasingly competitive market, slipping Thomas Verbaetconsultant for the Pandox group.
On the former Parking 58, it is a consortium formed by LO Group, Girls et Jardin who won, following months of fierce competition, the 15-year concession of the rooftop presented today as the largest in Europe. Its 2,500 square meters offer a panoramic view 360 degrees over the capital. To develop the activity on this roof delivered “casco” (in rough condition, with only the structural work completed) by the city of Brussels, the consortium has invested 1.3 million euros. A cocktail bar (open all year round) should see the light of day in the short term and work on the restaurant is well underway.
Full screen view The rooftop on the former Parking 58 is presented as the largest in Europe. ©saskia vanderstichele
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… and many constraints
When it comes to the operation of the City’s roofs, LO Group knows what it’s talking regarding, having for years been developing the rooftop Whyon the toit du JAM Hotel. The Jardin group, for its part, organized “hanging garden” evenings at the top of Parking 58. The new operators of Rooftop 58 were therefore aware of the constraints linked to this type of activity.
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“The greatest constraint is the number of people allowed to go on the roofs, a number calculated according to the emergency exits”, explained to us Thomas Trothen, one of the co-founders of LO Group. Another constraint highlighted by several rooftop operators is the cohabitation with the occupants of the building. In the case of Rooftop 58, it is a question of getting along with the civil servants who use this space during the day to come and eat there, in particular.
Michael de Kerchovewhich operates the MarketTo Kraainem, on the edge of the Soignes forest, says nothing else. “At closing, there is no question of postponing cleaning until the next morning. As we share the building with offices, we have to check everything and clean the elevators,” he explains. And indeed, cohabitation does not always work. This was the case at the top of Bozar, where LO Group operated the rooftop Solar for only a year. “The new CEO wanted to reserve this space for more art-oriented activities,” Thomas Trothen told us. Note that the rooftop of Bozar – even if it no longer includes a bar – remains accessible to the general public.
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A other constraintsays Michael de Kerchove, deals with the weather. At Soko, we take stock every day at 2 p.m. to find out if the rooftop will open its doors in the evening, a question of being able to manage the staff as well as possible.
In Brussels, many rooftop projects are in preparation: in the future hotel The Standard of the North district (Befimmo ZIN project), on the roof of the Bourseregarding the hotel Double Tree in Rogier (group Pandox), at the top of the Blue Tower… To the point that the rooftop market is reaching saturation point, explained Grégory Carelesswhose job is to find the perfect location for horeca operations.
Finally, the cost of equipping a rooftop can be a real obstacle. “Count between 2,000 and 2,500 euros per square meter”, specifies Grégory Sorgeloose. LO Group, which is working on a project to rooftop opposite the Saints-Michel-et-Gudule cathedral (Chancellor project of the Codic group), had also expressed interest in settling on the roof of the Mobilis buildingdeveloped in Anderlecht by D’Ieteren Yes, yes. But there, it is the necessary investment that has set LO Group back.
About the Mobilis, discussions are still ongoing, explained to us Paul Monville, Managing Director of D’Ieteren Immo. Incidentally, the latter explains that discussions are underway to develop a rooftop on the roof of D’Ieteren’s historic headquartersrue du Mail, a short spritz from place du Châtelain.
“Before, the roofs were often reserved for technical spaces and solar panels, I always found that strange.”
Pascal Smet
Former Brussels State Secretary for Urban Planning
More flexible interpretation of town planning rules
It remains to be seen why, in recent months, rooftops seem to be growing like autumn mushrooms? “It is Pascal Smet who changed the normhe has imposed activatable roofs“, explained to us Philippe Close, the mayor of Brussels, before adding: “Pascal Smet is a little known as Mr. Rooftop.” A phone call to the main interested party seems to be in order.
“Before, the roofs were often reserved for technical spaces and solar panels, I always found that strange”, explained to us the former secretary of State, who gave instructions to town planning for a more flexible interpretation rules allowing the development of activities on the roofs of Brussels. “The activation of the roofs makes it possible to help the social cohesion of a building“, explains Pascal Smet once more.
The summary
For several months, the rooftop projects are multiplying on the roofs of buildings Bruxelles.In doing so, the capital of Europe only catch up in this matter. It is a relaxation of urban planning rules wanted by Pascal Smet who allowed this development. To operate a rooftop, an operator must cope with certain constraints.
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