Edegem’s new timber community center strengthens the local community. A new regional hub for culture and leisure, Edegem Community Center and library forms the ‘Missing Link’ that strengthens the social fabric of the village. Built with environmental responsibility at its core, two pavilion-like volumes, built from cross-laminated timber, seamlessly connect to the heritage site and enhances the 19th-century garden as an oasis for reading and reflection. Designed with and for the community, the building features a flexible interior that adapts to their changing needs. The building reinvents the library for the digital age. By offering spaces not only to read offline, but also for digital media, all kind of courses and for community groups to rent meeting rooms. There’s also a book café and a staircase that acts like a small presentation space. The building is more than a place for books. It’s a place to meet, learn, relax and get inspired.

Timber building in the public domain. The new community centre in Edegem is the “Gold Standard” of the innovation in timber buildings within the public domain. The Belgian government demonstrates their willingness to adopt alternative building technologies, prefab construction and flexible architecture. The building is designed in timber which is a very healthy building material that "breathes". It regulates humidity, absorbs noise, and insulates. As a bio-based material it is also an infinite resource and has a great embodied carbon performance: the building stores CO2 in its structure. So, rather than building in concrete and steel, timber has a climate positive effect. Other sustainability aspects are the green roofs, the smart ventilation system, the solar power, the heat pump and use of grey water to flush toilets.