Operator: Cohabs
Architecture: Henri Rieck
Restoration and interior design: Atelier d’Architecture du Congrès
Photo credits: Evgenia Rigaut, Stanislas Huaux
Cohabs has come a long way since it opened its first co-living house in Brussels in 2016, now offering a dense network of residences around the world. A path of successes that sees the community network – specialized in providing fully furnished premium accommodation – projected towards other openings, including Washington and Marseille, and which now returns to the Belgian capital.
A return in style with the end of the restoration, which lasted for years, of the Passage du Nord building in the city center, chosen as the new ‘home’. A place of social dynamics since its inauguration in 1881, and the work of architect Henri Rieck, it was first a shopping center, then a hotel and also a cinema and congress center. A community vocation, therefore, which continues in its continuity of use, and which maintains the ground floor and mezzanine as commercial premises.
While transforming the upper floors into decidedly ‘original’ homes, in which private and shared spaces blend harmoniously, offering opportunities for interaction. Here, 60 fully furnished bedrooms are distributed in four units, each with a kitchen, living room and dining room. Each unit then has private cinema rooms and a quiet coworking space. On the fourth floor, a gym and panoramic terrace are shared by all.
Everywhere reigns a comfortable and welcoming environment with an elegant design, aimed at improving the well-being and happiness of community members. The restoration, supported by regional funding and supervised by the Atelier d’Architecture du Congrès, has largely maintained the original volumes and architectural structures, such as the caryatids, the pedestrian walkway, the cast iron lamps, the paving and the glass roof.
Balancing them with contemporary needs and integrating changes such as new high ceilings and an elevator. A neo-classical heritage brought back to life which, while preserving its historical essence, aligns itself with values of sustainability and modernity.
