Renovation of Brussels’ Goujons Tower wins new Flemish architecture prize

The Flanders Architecture Prize for projects with an added social value has been awarded to the renovation of the modernist residential tower 'Goujons' in Anderlecht.

This was the first award of its kind by the Flemish Architecture Institute (VAi). It was selected by a professional jury from 20 nominated architectural projects in Brussels and Flanders. More than 300 entries in total were submitted.

The prize honours not only the architect, but also the client and user. "Ambition alone does not make architecture. The selected buildings show how quality comes from a collective effort of clients, builders, architects, administrations and users," said Vai director Dennis Pohl.

Among five other award categories, Usquare Feder in Ixelles was also rewarded for the transformation of the former police barracks into a multipurpose university hub.

But the main winner was The Goujons Tower in Rue du Grondels, a striking building due to its pleated shape that was built in the 1970s along the former Senne river bed. The largest apartment building in the capital consists of 378 residential units.

Renovated by architectural firms Karbon' and TVK, the improvements for residents included spacious terraces, a new sports hall and a community room, as well as energy saving measures.

The jury also praised the project for allowing residents to continue living in the tower during the refurbishment. “The Goujons Tower is a bold and confident statement about the future of social housing: ambitious in form, meticulously executed and closely intertwined with the daily reality of the residents,” it said.

One shadow hovering over the award was the current suspected fraud case involving the social housing company Foyer Anderlechtois that manages the building.

“The VAi and the professional jury strongly disapprove of these suspected malpractices,” commented the jury.

Referring to VRT’s Pano report into alleged favouritism by the company, it added. "Without wanting to minimise the revelations from the Pano report, we remain convinced of the architectural quality of the renovation project.”

In addition to the main prize awarded by the professional jury, five category prizes were attributed by a public jury on different themes: living, working, learning, meeting and caring.

Usquare Feder (pictured above) won the working category, a joint project by Brussels’ VUB and ULB universities that also received an honorable mention by the professional jury.

The former gendarmeries barracks, which lay unused for many years, were repurposed to create an international university site and multifunctional urban district. It has been recognised by a number of architectural awards.

The other winning projects were: Tuighuisstraat in Kortrijk, Tonuso in Vilvoorde, NAVIGO Visserijmuseum in Koksijde and the Manchester building in Aalst.

All six winners were announced at the 7 June ceremony in De Bijloke in Ghent that concluded the organisation’s open-door Day of Architecture.

Photos: Goujons Tower, Karbon architectuur en stedenbouw ©Maud Faivre; Usquare Feder Ixelles ©Mies van der rohe awards 2026