SAU-MSI launches public procurement procedure for the construction of Frame, the showcase for mediapark.brussels

The Urban Development Corporation (SAU-MSI) has published a European public procurement notice with a view to appointing the general contractor responsible for the construction of FRAME, the future showcase building for mediapark.brussels.

Frame will be one of the first new structures of mediapark.brussels, at the corner of Boulevard Reyers and Rue Colonel Bourg in Schaerbeek. It will be a flagship building in this new creative Brussels district dedicated to the media. Given the integration of various operators and multiple functions and services within the same building, it will also be a showcase for mediapark.brussels, a kind of ‘miniature mediapark.brussels’.

The new construction plans represent a gross area of around 9,000 m², and will be partly financed by the Brussels-Capital Region and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The planning application procedure is currently taking place. The SAU-MSI plans to start the work in 2021, and the building should be finished and ready for its occupants to move in by 2023. 

 

An ecosystem building

The name chosen for the building by the SAU-MSI and the main future occupants, Frame - Brussels media community, refers to the ‘framework’ provided by the building for the development of a media-oriented ecosystem. It also alludes to the shape and structure of its main façade looking towards Diamant; to the ‘window’ onto mediapark.brussels that it will be; to the camera frame in visual media; and to the frame in web design.

The building will contain a multifunctional ecosystem – a microcosm of what mediapark.brussels will ultimately be like. Among other things, it will house the Region’s French-language TV channel BX1, the IHECS Academy (the centre for continuing training attached to the Institute for Higher Social Communication Studies), an innovation platform, various shared facilities and an auditorium.

Architecture on display

The Baukunst (Brussels) - Bruther (Paris) consortium of architecture firms was eventually selected following the call for project designers organised by the SAU-MSI in 2017. The architectural competition elicited great interest: the SAU-MSI received 51 high-quality applications submitted by multidisciplinary teams – some from Belgium and others from various European countries – as well as consortia from several countries.

With items on display including an enormous and impressive scale model, Frame features prominently in the exhibition dedicated to the work of Baukunst which is on at the Brussels Centre for Fine Arts (Bozar) until 5 January 2020.