The proposed exercise and Hitchcock's eponymous film share the same obsession: the court. Just as the thriller's plot is woven around the captivated observation of a building courtyard, the exercise was built around a deep understanding of the architectural challenges of this typology. Like the main character, immobilized by a broken leg, dedicated to concentrating his imagination on the mysterious atmosphere of the courtyard of his building, a space he had never realized before, we were led to make the courtyard... the primary object of study and the support of the project narrative.

The theme of the courtyard finds its materialization in the realization of a small sports centre and inhabited in dense urban areas. Sport is approached as a potential for activating a place. The proposed position, on the edge of a green and public site dedicated to outdoor activities, strengthens this potential. The courtyard becomes the privileged place for the extension of neighbourhood sports facilities and/or collective housing. Its unifying/separating or even crossable/closed character could be explored in the light of this context and the programme.

The chosen site is an undeveloped site, located Rue de l'Escaut on the border between Molenbeek-Saint-Jean and Laeken in Brussels, located on the edge of a strong topography. The "two-sided" character of the site and its simple geometry make it possible to explore the issues of the "building on courtyard" typology.

Program requested:

HOUSING: 4 apartments of different sizes.

SPORT: A neighbourhood sports facility, with indoor and outdoor infrastructure, including a climbing wall.