Page 190 - ELEMENTS EUROPA (EN)

186

the Europa’s last floor and the upper grill, the pergola-shaped balcony
which used to highlight the festive and mundane dimension of Michel
Polak’s building has been recreated to some extent. At least, it retained the
suggestion of an open space overlooking the Brussels landscape: lanterns
lighting the higher part of the atrium, technical pinnacles and the pole and
bracing framework supporting the photovoltaic panel platform all being
placed there should not keep a few lucky individuals from beholding that
view over the city, its roofs and its panorama.

On principle, photovoltaic panels allow for energy production not
supposed to exceed 5 to 7% of the new building’s planned consumption.
The part they play in the energy balance therefore remains essentially
theoretical and, in any case, the production is transferred to the general
electrical network without any possibility of being used on the spot.
This shows how much the current apparatus is destined to make a
comprehensive ecological balance obvious, as the building receives its
electrical supply from the network to which it only modestly contributes. In
that sense, the photovoltaic cover is some sort of public witness of the on-
going transition: energy self-sufficiency is suggested even if its consumption
is far from being balanced through self-production.

The environmental concern is not limited to this external capture and
transformation of solar energy. In the first place, it concerns the provisions
adopted for the construction, particularly for rehabilitating the Residence
Palace as a classified historical building. The Rue de la Loi patchwork facade
was not the only application of the principle of reusing old materials. All the
old window frames of the Residence Palace facades have been removed.
But unlike the oak doors and wood floors, which were removed with the
intention of being reused, the windows could not be kept on the spot.
The original frames failed to meet the required waterproofness criterion.
They were reproduced identically, with added double-glazing. The putty
used at the time of initial building pervaded the stone, which had to be
cleaned. The issue of pressure upon the window frames was addressed
by screwing the frames to the masonry. The know-how required for that
purpose is costly but this carpenter’s task made it possible to avoid silicone
joints masking. Philippe Samyn turned this into a question of architecture,
of perfect dimensional and assembly continuity between the stone bays
outlines and the wooden windows set into them. The continuity between
the two outlines all the way up to the finishings is like a principle: it requires
the delicate demands in terms of drawing and implementation, giving details
their real architectural meaning. The architect reckons that doing without
silicone compels people to pay extra attention to details.