Circular logistics infrastructure in the urban fabric
The Construction Materials Village (Bouwmaterialendorp) is a multifunctional depot for construction materials entering and leaving Brussels. It provides a critical link in the circular construction chain—supplying new materials to building sites and collecting construction and demolition waste for recycling. Its location along the Brussels Canal allows the use of barge transport, reducing truck traffic and associated emissions.
Modular, adaptable, and future-proof
The project consists of 31 bays, each 20 metres wide to match the bollard rhythm of the quay. The bays offer varied configurations—from enclosed warehouses to open storage canopies—allowing adaptability over time. The distinctive folded roof, inspired by traditional industrial forms, integrates solar panels, daylighting, and rainwater harvesting.
Industrial architecture as public asset
The design demonstrates that infrastructure can support civic ambitions. With a transparent, ordered structure and clear functional zoning, the village enhances the legibility of industrial operations and makes them part of public urban life. It reflects Brussels’ ambition to integrate circular economy principles not just in policy, but in place.
Recognition and impact
The project received the Brussels Architecture Prize in the “Major Intervention” category in 2021. It is widely recognised as a pioneering example of how logistics, sustainability, and architecture can intersect meaningfully to shape the future of European cities.
The construction materials village at the Vergotedok in the Port of Brussels, Belgium is an illustration of sustainable urban logistics. By distributing construction materials to the city and collecting construction waste from the city, the village functions as an important logistics and distribution hub between port and city. Rather than purchasing an eco-label as an individual building, the village is part of a larger urban ecosystem. The modular and hierarchical structure of the warehouses makes the architecture receptive to different programmatic demands of various concession holders, while the rainwater collected on the large roof and the energy produced can be put to the service of the ready-mix concrete plant on site and serve future developments in the surrounding neighborhood.
The jury considers the strength of the project to lie in its objective to situate architecture – as node or relay – within a dynamic, metabolic system of material flows in the midst of a city environment. Addressing an important missing link in the material life-cycle management of the contemporary urban realm, understood as an eco-system, the design proposal aims to apply sustainability principles to the construction of infrastructure.
