Meise Botanical Garden: new reception building

The botanical garden in the municipality of Meise, northwest of Brussels, is one of the largest in the world, covering an area of around 92 hectares. During the enforced pandemic break, it was extensively renovated and equipped with a new reception building.

18,000 plant species live in the Meise Botanical Garden, half of which are cultivated in greenhouses and half in the open air. In addition, over three million plant samples are archived in the garden’s herbarium. In addition to the 12th-century Bouchout Castle, on whose grounds the botanical garden extends, there are two other building highlights on the site: the Victorian Balat greenhouse and the orangery. Now a brand new addition: the garden’s new reception building.

The new reception building of the Plantentuin Meise, as the botanical garden is called in Dutch, was designed by the Belgian architecture firm NU architectuuratelier and is based on T-shaped concrete support structures that support a wooden roof. The canopy, designed in a uniform design language, merges seamlessly into the actual body of the building.

The architects therefore want to create a contrast to the surroundings through the horizontally emphasized architecture. It is intended as a counterpoint to the vertical lines defined by the trees and the herbarium building in the immediate vicinity. Present and standing resolutely thanks to the solid concrete beams, it nevertheless blends in with the existing landscape. The timber roof makes a significant contribution to this. Visually, it appears to float minimally above the concrete columns and also provides a view of its natural-colored beam structure from below inside the building.

Just like the timber structures of the roof, the concrete supporting structure is consistently continued inside the building. This is integrated into the design of the rooms. The signature style is characterized by reduction and simplification. However, the new reception building of the Meise Botanical Garden is used in a variety of ways. In addition to the reception and ticket counter, there is also a garden store, a small restaurant and a multifunctional hall. Guest rooms, offices and the janitor’s accommodation are also planned there. Another part of the renovation project in the Meise Botanical Garden is the restoration and redesign of a former Flemish railroad station on the site.

Read more news from Belgium: David Chipperfield is converting the former Grand Hotel Nieuwpoort on the Belgian coast with a sensitive and forward-looking eye.