transformation

fossil free neighbourhoods

By 2030, at least ten neighbourhoods will be underway with the transition to fossil-free energy in an inclusive and affordable way, with a view to completely phase-out fossil fuels by 2040.

In fossil-free neighbourhoods, sustainable heat is extracted locally from the air, ground, water or residual energy and distributed via (small-scale) heat networks or (collective) heat pumps. Local authorities, heat developers and citizens’ cooperatives shape, through learning-by-doing, practices and policies that collectively support homeowners in their renovation efforts, protect tenants and link investments in the energy transition to improved quality of life, public spaces and future-proof mobility.
Opening Night open workroom Operation Energy Neighbourhoods 11.12.2024 © Bob Van Mol - project page Operation Energy Neighbourhoods
5 fossil free districts by 2030 New construction projects are “easy”, but today, no existing neighbourhood is equipped with a sustainable collective heating system. In the F5D project (2026–...), we are joining forces with a broad coalition of partners to realise the first five fossil-free neighbourhoods by 2030. 
100 Neighbourhoods Forum 2025 © Bob Van Mol
Operatie Energiewijken: Open Workroom – Cahier 1 There are many advantages to tackling the energy transition collectively. It is more cost- and material-efficient. It also offers opportunities for both higher and lower income households. By working together, multiple processes and technical solutions can be combined. That is the promise of the neighbourhood-level approach. 
Breakthrough sessions 100 Neighbourhoods Platform During the breakthrough sessions organised by the 100 Neighbourhoods Platform, local authorities, public bodies and civil society organisations come together to develop a methodology that makes the heat transition achievable for everyone. 
Operatie Energiewijken - Naar een coalitie en uitvoeringspraktijk voor fossielvrije weerbare wijken
programme of the 100 Neighbourhoods Forum During the annual forum of the 100 Neighbourhoods Platform (2024–…), we share lessons with local authorities, experts, advisory councils, researchers and policymakers, thereby promoting a broader understanding of the integrated, neighbourhood-oriented approach to energy transition. 
Soccer field of Standaard Muide Imagine if the local soccer field became a source of collective heat! Together with SAAMO, Kelvin Solutions, Daidalos Peutz, Ghent University, and others, we are looking at how to involve residents, what renovation measures are necessary, and how roles and risks are distributed in the business case for the collective heating system in the Living Lab Muide Meulestede Fossil-Free (2023–2026).
drawings for neighbourhood session In the Living Lab Muide Meulestede Fossil-Free (2023–2026), we are investigating how an energy district can be created in practice: by generating heat together, sharing electricity and/or organising ourselves at district level. 
100 Neighbourhoods Forum 2024 ©Bob Van Mol
PED-toolkit We developed our methodology for creating WEAPs as part of the European Cities4PEDs project. We published a PED toolkit with a comprehensive reference guide and a practical game that local initiators can use themselves.
Climate Neighbourhood Sint-Gillis Brugge To work towards a fossil-free neighbourhood, it is crucial to link opportunities, coordinate investments and be ready when the moment arises. In Bruges, we facilitated the drafting of a Neighbourhood Energy Action Plan (NEAP) for the Sint-Gillis Climate Neighbourhood with the aim of coordinating the various actions and responsibilities. 
IABR the missing link On the 2018 IABR The Missing Link, we explored through a selection of models new typologies for the energy transition.
De Lage Landen 2020-2100, 2014-2017 Fossil-free neighbourhoods are an important link in a broader transition to renewable energy. In the publication Lage Landen 2020–2100. Een toekomstverkenning (2017), we set out how energy neighbourhoods, energy generation in rural areas and large-scale supergrids will together form a single (spatial) system. 
Campaign image 'Proud local residents', 2016, Gent. Photo: Sis Pillen The Muide-Meulestede neighbourhood in Ghent needs a vision for the future that is also supported by local residents. Through a co-creative process, we formulated within Muide-Meulestede Morgen (Muide-Meulestede tomorrow) a vision for a productive, supportive and cohesive neighbourhood.
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WORKROOM

Since 2010, Architecture Workroom Brussels has focused on the future of our living environment. The organisation began as a safe haven to address the link between space and societal transitions, aimed at fostering a futureproof design practice, commissioning and building culture.

It has now become evident that the transformation of our streets, neighbourhoods, and landscapes is both a prerequisite and a lever for achieving societal goals in synergy. Yet we observe that these transformations remain difficult to imagine and implement. They span so many sectors and involve so many actors that responsibility falls on everyone, and therefore, ultimately, on no one.

That is why we make it our mission to create the space that connects them. And with this refined mission comes a new name: WORKROOM, House for transformation. WORKROOM is the shared space where the future of our living environment is not only imagined but also organised.

We are currently taking the lead on three mission-driven transformations:

  • SOCIETAL INCUBATORS - By 2030, stakeholders from the youth, culture, sports, care and education sectors will join forces to create renewed societal spaces that tackle loneliness and counteract the fragmentation and pressure on public infrastructure.
  • FOSSIL-FREE NEIGHBOURHOODS - By 2030, at least ten neighbourhoods will be underway with the transition to fossil-free energy in an inclusive and affordable way, with a view to completely phase-out fossil fuels by 2040.
  • SPONGE LANDSCAPES - By 2030, we will have achieved our water, agriculture and nature goals through a single, coherent approach at catchment area level, in which strong regional coalitions collectively enhance the landscape's sponge capacity.

To make these transformations a reality, WORKROOM works shoulder to shoulder with pioneering designers, local authorities, organisations and businesses, governments, knowledge institutions and impact investors.

Through co-creative design, we imagine shared pathways to the future in exhibitions, publications, innovation programmes and public programmes. These are the workrooms where we connect the actors capable of realising these transformations. From there, we design shared ownership and the organisational, funding and policy models that lead to real change.

The name is simpler. The stakes are higher. WORKROOM is the shared space where we tackle the social and spatial transformations that no one can achieve alone. In an era of polarisation, compartmentalisation and instability, that is perhaps the most radical thing we can do.