‘The Place’ is a student housing development in Brussels. Instead of the traditional bedframe-closet-wash-basin set-up, Creneau created a multi-functional hive where students can be themselves, create, connect and be inspired. To make sure the entire experience of the building is in line with the core concept, Creneau also designed and developed a fully-grown ‘The Place’ brand identity.
We took our conceptual cue from the Bauhaus movement, a German school of arts (and school of thought) based on the idea of ‘form follows function’. In other words: what your space looks like should be determined by what the space is used for. Instead of accepting the standard student clichés from the past, Creneau analyzed the way the current generation of academic hopefuls is filling their days and nights. This generation = ‘Generation D’. (The ‘D’ stands for ‘digital’.) Members of this generation want to use their bedroom as a central hub for their online social life, their projects and more.

Their bedroom is also their workspace and their technological hub. The structure of every room is the same, with plenty of preimplemented, clever ideas to save precious space. Students are encouraged to make this space their own by using a building kit containing loose elements, such as shelves, hooks, flexible lamps, etc. Every student gets the same package. What they do with it is up to them. They can customize, inspire and be inspired by others.

Generation D is also used to fully immersive and engaging brand experiences. That’s why Creneau developed a brand with a personality students could relate to.

Key values of the ‘The Place’ brand are transparency and innovation. This was translated on every level of the project, from the logo (bold and crisp) to the spatial structure (e.g. there is a communal space on every floor to connect with others).