Preserving Postwar Adaptive Housing, the Mémé by Atelier Kroll (1970-1976)
(2026) Multiple Moderns : Climate, Community, Creativity — ISBN: [978-0-9820365-2-5], 612-618, accepted/in-press
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MARINO-SIMONIN_DOCOMOMO_IDC_2026_Preserving Postwar Adaptive Housing the Meme by Atelier Kroll 1970–1976.pdf
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- The architecture of postwar housing developments is characterized by a desire for formal renewal. As modernist models of residential bar and tower buildings began to feel obsolete, the focus shifted toward the user, redefining architecture as a framework for everyday life. Driven by experimental construction techniques and renewed societal vision, housing became an architecture in evolution, capable of adapting to the changing needs and lifestyles of its residents. At the same time, citizen participation emerged as an essential methodological tool. Collaboration between architects, landscapers, and future residents became a powerful driver of creativity, fostering architectural projects distinguished by their formal complexity and material richness. An emblematic example of this approach is the student residence Maison Médicale (known as “la Mémé”) designed by Atelier Kroll on the campus of the Univsersité catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain) in Woluwé-Saint-Lambert, Brussels. Built in the 1970s, the architecture challenges conventional norms in the field. Its reinforced concrete structure avoids the standardization of interior spaces. Designed in close collaboration with its future residents, the project is based on a flexible architectural system in which partitions and facade panels can be freely repositioned. Developed through a process of “open” industrialization, the components are conceived to be modified, adapted, and even rebuilt over time. Internationally recognized for its deliberately disordered aesthetic and the participatory approach it embodies, this recent heritage stands as a major testament to constructive and material experimentation. Listed on the heritage register of the Brussels-Capital Region, it requires an adapted intervention that is both pragmatic and respectful, capable of understanding, preserving, and extending its intrinsic qualities in response to contemporary challenges. In this regard, it challenges the established criteria of international conservation charters by raising a fundamental question: How can the evolving principles inherent to such architectures be reconciled with the demands of material authenticity?
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Simonin, E., & Marino, G. (2026). Preserving Postwar Adaptive Housing, the Mémé by Atelier Kroll (1970-1976). In DoCoMoMo International (ed.), Multiple Moderns : Climate, Community, Creativity (pp. 612-618). DoCoMoMo US. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/279682