Dialoog asbl

Station building becomes sustainable workplace and meeting space

The Wijgmaal station building had been vacant for 15 years. In 2010, the north wing collapsed and the building was declared uninhabitable. When the youth center also left there, it quickly fell into disrepair. To redevelop the station, the Autonoom Gemeentebedrijf Stadsontwikkeling Leuven (AGSL) issued a concession call in 2013. The condition? At least half of the renovated building had to be given a community function.

Sustainable place for the whole neighborhood
Today, work on the Wijgmaal station building is in full swing. Dialoog vzw is installing there a dismountable office, a meeting room and a meeting space for the neighborhood. The city of Leuven will rent it out. The renovation does involve major challenges: the building is located next to a platform where trains still run and must therefore meet acoustic requirements. It is also recognized heritage.

Maximum reuse of materials
Dialoog vzw works with as many recovered materials as possible. For example, it reused masonry from the collapsed wing and from external demolition projects. The non-profit organization also pulled up concrete beams and columns from circular concrete, and used dismountable vaults. The wooden I-beams for the roof are constructed from recycled wood fractions, and the wooden cladding is made from rejected wood lots. Finally, using the scrap wood, an association made a wooden neighborhood bar and picnic tables.

The organization also uses reclaimed materials to finish the spaces, including interior doors, carpet tiles for the conference room and a kitchen.

Measuring environmental impact of design
To make the new design as energy efficient as possible, the nonprofit also tested it against the design guidelines for change-oriented construction, using TOTEM to measure the building's environmental impact.