Meow collective

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België
Brussels
Meow collective

Community Architecture

Meow collective co-creates accessible, inviting spaces by involving local actors representing different target groups in the creation process, in order to bring the multitude and diversity that characterizes the vibrant Brussels to public space. Motivated by the dynamics of their immediate surroundings, meow has been active in the North Quarter of Brussels since 2019, realizing projects together w

ith a broad spectrum of local organizations. Meow seeks to democratize and activate the creation of urban spaces by integrating open use into the design and charging it with the input of empathetic citizens and local experts. Rather than merely creating a visual scenography, we seek to create a social context in which the underlying potential of actors already present in an existing and specific urban fabric is sustainably woven. By creating links between social partners, immediate residents and underrepresented target groups, we aim to physically and mentally anchor the local community in the city by gradually shaping its urban spaces together.

21/05/2026

This project lies very close to our hearts, so we've been wanting to share this news with you for a while now! 💓

Together with , we got selected to rethink three public spaces in the heart of Kuregem: Jorez (aka Clemenceau), Fiennes and Grisar.

Rather than starting from a blank slate, we want to build on the energy that already exists within the neighborhood: local initiatives, existing networks, the embedded knowledge of citizen associations, lessons learned from past interventions, and decades of residents fighting for a better future. Let us get inspired by the people who continue to make beautiful things happen here, despite the challenges.

Through a participatory process involving key actors, by connecting ambitions and desires, testing small-scale interventions and taking collective action, we hope to explore new ways of re-greening these public spaces, enabling a meaningful and flexible programming for them, and reclaiming these spaces together with the neighborhood.

Step by step, we move forward!

project in collaboration with
with the support of
and many, many more people and organisations to thank!

29/04/2026

PAST 55 - somewhere in between
Matti & Hella’s place, now in that magical spot somewhere between “just started” and “almost there.”
The new bathroom is up and running… which means the old one can go!

11/12/2025

HERK 25 - demolition time!

We often uncover hidden crawl spaces during renovation projects in Brussels’ generous historic housing stock, where 4-meter high ceilings (on the ground floor) were once relatively common. In this apartment in particular, we found an impressive 1m40 void tucked beneath an improvised floor. By rebuilding the new floor at garden level, the home and garden will soon flow seamlessly into one another. More to follow!

22/10/2025

😍 looking forward to family day at VAI in Antwerp

13/08/2025

In Rotterdam-Zuid, we had the chance to lead the Design Studio: Hefhouse Feijenoord, working together with students from RAvB to involve local youth and propose an alternative vision for the neighbourhood — one that reflects their perspectives, needs, and aspirations.

We were amazed by the openness of a context where various stakeholders — including the municipality, housing cooperatives, urban planners, and social designers — showed genuine interest in the youth’s input.

Through collaborative workshops, the youth offered critiques and feedback on the students’ projects, reimagining their neighbourhood in contrast to the municipality’s current vision. These conversations with all parties were deeply enriching, and we hope the youth’s perspective will shape the municipality’s future steps.

Thanks to all the youth of who inspired us, our host , the students, Marjolein Vermeulen, , , as well as to , and special thanks to@bertgellynck for recommending us

25/06/2025

Building permit handed in!
In the 21st-century belt around Antwerp, on a narrow green patch next to the railroads, a cute row-house just got a pair of new owners. Matti and Hella dream of a warm home that opens up to the garden, and to do that they want to get their hands dirty. We re-imagined the organisation of the spaces by de-cluttering the existing annexes. We propose to re-define the relation of the living spaces with the narrow and long garden by adding a winter garden as a transitional space, literally bringing the garden into the house. The planned interventions were conceived to allow a maximum amount of self-building and to minimize the many technical challenges that come with energetic renovations. For this, we proposed straightforward solutions with simple principles, that allow a comfortable margin of error and a healthy amount of DIY-preparation.

06/06/2025

We're happy to work with Muntpunt and De Munt to turn the Koniginnestraat into a reading, meeting and playing street during the summer months!

We kicked off the opening with 'Tussen de soep en de feiten', hosted by Brussels Academy . In a talk with .ceulemans , we talked about the playful city, placemaking and the collective intelligence.

Thank you for the fun collaboration & .demunt !

Chairs sourced , video by Muntpunt

15/05/2025

On the opening day, Meow collective organized workshops to help children build this new water-infrastructure and motivate the parents to take a dip in the new ponds. What a fun way to show the incredible potential that is below our feet!

Photos by and
Project by .ressources , and Meow collective
Supported by VGC in the framework of Playcation.Brussels 2024

13/05/2025

What if this serene stream can become a water playground during the summer months, offering some coolness and letting the children decide for themselves how this little stream should run? After some initial tests on site, a playful and green intervention was imagined: a mobile forest would flourish in several ponds along a new stream that emerges on the sidewalk. By stacking recuperated pavement stones (which were taken out for de-pavement projects by the city) and using natural clay as mortar, a series of ponds, streams and waterfalls was added along the Meudon Street. Children could build their own aqueducts, waterfalls and ponds by simply stacking the remaining pavement stones and sealing them with clay, becoming river-builders themselves!

Photos by Maarten Weyns
Project by .ressources , and Meow collective
Supported by VGC in the framework [email protected] 2024

09/05/2025

Speelbroek is a project initiated by .ressources and and funded by the VGC in the framework of .brussels 2024.

Her.Bronnen has been on a quest to reimagine the way we deal with the 220 known sources in Brussels that have been shut off or redirected towards the sewage system in the last century. For playcation 2024, they imagined a new use for the Meudonbron in Neder-over-Heembeek, which has been calmly flowing from its source over the Meudon Street into the sewage system a bit downhill for as long as the neighbors can remember.

Photos by Maarten Weyns & Nele Maes
Project by Herbronnen.resources, plantenhoutgoed and Meow collective
Supported by VGC in the framework of Playcation.Brussels 2024

Adres

Brussels
1030

Openingstijden

Maandag

10:00 - 13:00

Website

http://www.meow.brussels/

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