BPC, general contractor and major player in the construction sector in Brussels and Wallonia for 150 years, and Wood Shapers, a new subsidiary of the CFE group specialized in wood construction already very active in Luxembourg, will build together the Monteco project for Leasinvest Real Estate, in the heart of the European district. With its 8-storey wood structure, this office project is considered to be the tallest wood building in the Brussels Region. The PEFC-certified wood used in the project is sourced from within a 500 km radius of the construction site.

In Belgium, there is a real demand for new sustainable projects. "There is a desire and a need to move towards buildings with high-end energy performance. Owners and tenants are demanding sustainable buildings, using sustainable materials," says Alexander Hodac, CEO of BPC.
"Monteco is not BPC's first wood project, but the scale of this one is significant. It marks an important step in our strategy to invest more in new construction methods. As the construction market evolves and questions its environmental impact, we want to become an actor of change, propose solutions and accompany the market in its approach. Wood joins the catalog of our competences and makes it possible to propose a broad range of possibilities of construction. Our collaboration with Wood Shapers is obviously key in the integration of this expertise within our company. There is no doubt that the combination of our historical skills will be a major asset for the Monteco project and future projects that we will carry out together." Alexander Hodac, CEO of BPC.

The challenge of the Monteco project lies in its wooden structure. The 3,674 sqm building will have 8 floors above ground, with the top 2 floors set back in one piece to make room for a large terrace. With the exception of the prefabricated concrete core, the entire structure of the Monteco building will be built of wood, left exposed. The association between BPC, a historical player in construction in Brussels and Wallonia, and Wood Shapers, a specialist in wood construction, optimizes and completes the crucial skills of each for the success of a project of this type.

"The association between BPC and Wood Shapers is a strategic choice that will last. Wood has technical virtues that are not the same as those of concrete. It is lighter and allows more prefabrication in the factories. Wooden construction therefore requires more preparation upstream, because the orders and interfaces are more numerous. But building everything in wood is not possible. It is necessary to balance the wood contribution to combine it with traditionally used materials such as concrete or steel, in order to use the right material in the right place. So BPC's skills are very important to the success of the work." Arnaud Regout, CEO of Wood Shapers.
Both BPC and Wood Shapers emphasize the excellent collaboration between the entities of the CFE group, in particular VMA for the multi-technical part, as well as with ION, Leasinvest Real Estate and Archi 2000.

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