Haute couture in a rugged building

To highlight the versatility of the activities that take place in the new Brussels iMAL, they are grouped around a unique void that extends over three floors and goes by the name of the ‘Aviary’. This structure in lacquered steel extends to the second floor and is clad in micro-perforated corrugated aluminium sheets that serve as both a transparent veil and a parapet. The undulation of the aluminium sheets is accommodated in the slender and lightweight supporting structure made up of seven 5,200 mm high frames measuring 3,000 mm by 100 mm (length x width). The hanger bars are matched to the corrugated metal and digitally cut out. The supporting structure was first installed between steel columns anchored in the floor, and the corrugated sheets then installed using a thousand dowels to allow for future replacement if necessary. The total length of the aluminium veil is 21 metres and all elements can be disassembled for reuse in future projects.