Brussels
PIAZZA
An installation designed by smarin for the Berlaymont Hall
In January 2025, smarin was commissioned to design activable spaces within the Berlaymont building, headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels. The Piazza installation is the result of two years of research and development led by the studio around sustainable materials, urban regeneration, and user-centered design. It is aligned with the New European Bauhaus programme, which aims to foster new ways of living and shaping space that are sustainable, aesthetic, and inclusive.
Piazza offers a new imaginary for indoor public space, envisioned as a sculptural, inhabited landscape. Both furniture and system, the installation provides a sensitive and concrete response to contemporary challenges around hospitality, environmental health, and adaptability of uses.
A Regenerative Furniture-System: CH & CH — Hemp and Lime
The installation is made of modules in hemp and lime — a vegetal concrete with a neutral or even negative carbon footprint, entirely developed by the studio. This geo- and bio-sourced material combines the technical properties of concrete (mass, strength, durability) with those of a living material: breathable, non-toxic, compostable.
ISLANDS OF COOLNESS – Plant & Mineral Activation
Thanks to its thermal inertia and its integration with plant modules, the system supports passive cooling of the space. It enables the formation of cooling islands within the architecture itself, acting as a discreet yet effective ecological adaptation tool.
A Grammar of Forms for a Free Topography
Each module is autonomous in shape, yet conceived within a systemic logic. Together, they form a honeycomb-like, organic layout with open-ended uses. The ensemble may serve as seating, resting, gathering, observing. It lends itself to motion, modularity, reconfiguration, storage, or deployment, depending on the needs of the moment.
Rather than static furniture, Piazza proposes a social and spatial matter to be activated — shaped by the rhythms, flows, and presences of individuals and groups alike. Moving beyond standard formats, it invites a renewed attentiveness to uses and to human presence.
