- Home
- References
- Skylights & Overhead Glass
- Mortsel City Square
A city square under solar glass — shade, landmark and power station in one plane
A city redrawn — where energy is not hidden on distant roofs but lives in the civic realm
Remake the centre: walkable, climate-smart, legible at a glance
In the early 2010s Mortsel — just outside Antwerp — chose to redraw its centre entirely. Cars went underground, public transport was pulled into the heart of the plan, and an open, walkable square was composed around the town hall’s classical set-piece. The canopy is the project’s signature: a freestanding semi-transparent roof linking two halves of the square, cooling the public realm in summer and harvesting clean energy year-round.
Slender galvanised steel columns branch like trunks, carrying 21 prefabricated glass elements — each panel minutely different, together forming a subtly rippling butterfly roof. By day a filigree of solar cells registers as a light print; by night the soffit glows softly, turning the canopy into both landmark and lantern. The grid of cells is not a technical apology — it is the architecture’s texture, modulating glare at the tram stops and laying a fine weave of shadow across the paving.
21 unique panels — certified, prefabricated, publicly safe
- 21 geometrically unique panels, each factory-laminated and fitted with connectors before delivery to site
- Wind, snow and torsion loads engineered for the skewed butterfly geometry; deflection limits of the slender steel frame
- Safety glazing to EN 356 P1A impact and EN 12600 1B1 pendulum standards; PV elements to IEC 61215 / 61730
- PPP delivery structure — Van Roey as lead contractor, Belfius financing — performance targets contractually embedded from the outset
- Bundled programme: underground parking, passive office building and public square as one coherent scheme
- Rainwater harvesting integrated for toilets and fountains; monitoring and string-level fault detection from day one
Why it fits: ISSOL® Square’s glass-glass laminates with monocrystalline cells allowed cell spacing to be tuned precisely to the transparency and shade targets of each panel — all 21 geometrically unique. Factory lamination with pre-fitted connectors compresses programme and protects laminate integrity on site. Slim clamps, tight edge zones and drainage absorbed into the columns keep the canopy reading as a single thin plane: the finish looks simple because the construction is exact. Delivered under the SOLTECH flag with AGC Glass Europe as glass partner and Eoluz handling PV installation.
Parameters for rapid evaluation
| Parameter | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Application | BIPV civic canopy | Freestanding public square canopy; tram stops and stairwells below |
| ISSOL® solution | ISSOL® Square | Glass-glass laminate; monocrystalline cell matrix; cell spacing tuned per panel transparency target |
| Installed capacity | 134.85 kWp | BIPV canopy |
| Annual yield | 114,623 kWh/yr | Expected annual generation |
| Panels | 21 unique elements | Each factory-laminated and tested; prefitted connectors before site delivery |
| Passive office demand | ~93,280 kWh/yr | Canopy output exceeds office demand by ~23%; surplus directed to car park and square lighting |
| Glass partner | AGC Glass Europe | Glass-glass laminate supply |
| PV installation | Eoluz | On-site PV installation and commissioning |
| Engineering | VK Engineering | Structure and services; wind, snow, torsion and deflection analysis |
| PPP / Contractor | Van Roey NV + Belfius | Lead contractor; PPP financing; performance targets embedded in contract |
| Completed | June 2013 | Opened with the redeveloped city square |
“The office operates as a net-zero building with surplus — the canopy more than covers its needs, with a theoretical 23% margin to spare.”
Lieven Louwyck — Project Architect, Abscis Architecten
From drawing board to a roof that powers its city block
