The highly symbolic pilot project “House Biloba”

Biloba is a pilot project of community housing, specifically dedicated to the elderly.

Initially, bringing together common will, a partnership…

The first step towards the development of the pilot was the establishment of a partnership between E.MM.A, a cooperative with a social goal, Foyer Schaerbeekois, a local social housing association and SLRB which is the subsidizing authority. All three partners were convinced of the added value of having an intergenerational and multicultural place for the elderly, in a popular Brussels district.

Secondly, a project that addresses specific needs…

“Biloba House” consists of 15 units of senior housing, a community room and a day care centre, located on the ground floor of the building which is open to the whole neighbourhood.

This innovative set aims to meet social housing needs tailored to the elderly in a neighbourhood of an increasingly ageing population. The existing stock in the area cannot adequately address the challenge.

Probably, the most important contribution of the project’s integrated approach is that it manages to keep the ageing population within its environment without moving them out of a place where most of them have spent almost their whole lives.

Allocation of roles

Whoever talks about "innovative housing" very often also refers to "adaptations" of the technical and administrative framework to the specificities of these dwellings and their inhabitants.

Thus, in the case of the “Biloba House”, the local social housing company, Le Foyer Schaerbeek, will be responsible for the housing management and construction while the association E.MM.A. will be responsible for the day care centre and the community room.

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