Hybrid activation of underused heritage sites through integrated cultural, economic and community functions

The municipality of Etterbeek (Brussels - Belgium) owns the Hap site, a high-quality heritage complex comprising a listed 19th-century mansion, an orangery and a 1.3-hectare public park. The site was fully renovated between 2017 and 2020 thanks to significant public investment.

Despite these assets, the site remains underused today. This situation can be explained by several structural factors: constraints related to heritage protection (limiting certain uses), a fragile economic model due to the predominance of low-revenue socio-cultural activities, logistical constraints (fragmented spaces, limited accessibility in the evening), as well as the absence of an integrated governance and programming model.

In response, the municipality aims to transform the Hap site into a hybrid model structured around complementary functions. Firstly, a museum and heritage function, focused on showcasing the Hap House and its history, ensuring regular attendance and a first source of revenue. Secondly, a space rental function (private events, seminars, community activities), aimed at generating income to support the overall project. Thirdly, a convivial and community-oriented function, open to residents, associations and cultural actors, fostering encounters, citizen participation and social cohesion.

The challenge is not simply to juxtapose these uses, but to build an integrated model in which economic functions (museum, rentals) help finance and stabilise socio-cultural activities, while enhancing the overall attractiveness of the site.

This project aligns with municipal priorities in terms of social cohesion, heritage valorisation and the development of local facilities in a dense and highly diverse urban context, where more than 150 nationalities coexist and where distinct minorities can sometimes evolve in parallel rather than together. In this context, a key objective is to foster interaction between diverse population groups and to prevent the formation of “community bubbles” by creating shared spaces and experiences. The Hap site offers a concrete testing ground to bring together different audiences—residents, cultural actors, associations and visitors—within an inclusive and accessible environment, while also exploring new ways of reconciling public interest with economic viability.

Within the framework of an URBACT network, Etterbeek seeks to join as a partner city in order to challenge and refine this hybrid approach through exchanges with other cities facing similar issues in activating underused public sites. The objective is to test and develop a replicable model capable of combining heritage valorisation, financial balance and social impact at neighbourhood level.