New project: School Rabelais

Abandoned for many years, the site of the Rabelais school in the centre of Ixelles (Belgium), will soon undergo a major renovation as part of a public procurement contract organised by the municipality of Ixelles.

CIT Blaton will be involved in the project over a period of three years and in association with Wust. The goal? Build a brand new school infrastructure (primary and secondary), sports facilities, as well as a crèche and housing. The site is characterised by 'neoclassical' style school buildings facing the street. Those buildings will be entirely renovated and turned into a new secondary school covering a surface area of over 5,000 m². A listed covered hall will be restored and a lobby topped by a glass roof will be fitted out to facilitate circulation between the buildings. The primary school, still in operation, will temporarily move to the newly renovated wings pending the demolition-reconstruction of their 3,000 m² building. A 1,000 m² building accommodating eight apartments will be built to on a currently vacant plot. On the other side, a second building will also be built to house a crèche and a gym. The contract includes the coordination of two other lots: joinery and built-in furniture. Upon completion of construction in 2026, the Rabelais school campus will be born again!

• Client : Ixelles
• Architects : Urban Platform, R²D²
• Studies Offices: ECM, Concept Control, Ecoplus, Architectures Parallèles, BAAM Acoustique, Studio Basta
• Period 2023-2026 /
• Location: Ixelles (BE)
• Surface 14 600 m²