Aesthetic audacity meets structural safety: the RENOLIT ALKORPLAN roofing products solution for the Bellecour complex
Jaspers-Eyers Architects’ bold design for the Bellecour complex required a roofing solution capable of withstanding intense wind loads on extreme gradients; RENOLIT ALKORPLAN roofing products delivered the necessary stability without compromising the building's sculptural integrity.
Sant Celoni – 27th May 2026 – Modern architecture is increasingly defined by the search for a continuous, monolithic aesthetic where the roof is no longer a separate element but an integral part of the building's skin. To bring such ambitious visions to life, architects require advanced materials that can adapt to complex geometries without forcing a compromise on the original creative intent.
The Bellecour complex in Braine-l’Alleud (Belgium) is a prime example of this synergy, where extreme slopes and a specific visual identity demanded a versatile and lightweight roofing solution capable of turning a sculptural concept into a structural reality.
Through its expertise and high-performance systems, RENOLIT ALKORPLAN roofing products has enabled this architectural audacity, ensuring the structure is perfectly adapted to the demands of modern urbanisation while maintaining a commitment to durable protection and circular economy principles.
The challenge: complex geometries and environmental stresses
The primary difficulty of the Bellecour project lay in its extraordinary structural demands, particularly regarding the roof's geometry. The surfaces featured record-breaking inclinations, with slopes ranging from 20° to nearly 70°. In a town centre location, managing these angles of inclination alongside critical wind loads and shear forces required an uncompromising technical approach.
Ensuring long-term stability on such steep pitches was essential to protecting both the building's integrity and its complex architectural profile.
The solution: technical engineering at the service of creativity
The vision of Jaspers-Eyers Architects for the Bellecour complex required a seamless transition between the facade and the roof, creating a continuous "architectural skin".
This sculptural, monolithic design was made possible by the versatility of RENOLIT ALKORPLAN Solar profiles. Originally designed for securing photovoltaics, these ultra-lightweight profiles served as a secure mounting base for ceramic tiles identical to those on the walls of the façade, ensuring total aesthetic continuity across the entire envelope
"The greatest challenge was the record-breaking inclinations. By combining the RENOLIT ALKORPLAN F Classic membrane with our Solar profiles, we provided a solution that manages shear forces and wind loads perfectly while maintaining the building’s complex geometry”, explains Bart Vanden Hautte, Technical Manager RENOLIT Belgium.
This configuration, installed by RENO-TECH Toitures Étanchéité using hot-air welding, allowed the tiles to be anchored without ever piercing the underlying waterproofing. This technical synergy effectively eliminated infiltration risks, proving that high-performance engineering is the primary enabler of modern urban design.
The human factor: experience and partnership
The success of a technically demanding project like Bellecour is built upon more than just advanced materials; it is the result of a long-standing professional synergy. RENOLIT and the installer, RENO-TECH Toitures Étanchéité, share a historical partnership spanning over 20 years. This mutual trust and combined expertise were fundamental in overcoming the project's complexities within a tight execution schedule.
"Our relationship with RENOLIT is historical," states Hugues Binet, RENO-TECH Toitures Étanchéité. "The combination of RENOLIT’s technical studies and our on-site expertise allowed us to meet a difficult technical challenge on time. It brings us great satisfaction, and I believe this opens the door to future projects using similar techniques with a variety of different finishing materials”, he adds.
The extraordinary versatility of the RENOLIT ALKORPLAN Solar profile has been the key to this success: originally a technical solution for energy, it has evolved into a powerful creative tool for the building envelope. By allowing diverse finishes onto a safe, waterproof base, this project moves beyond traditional boundaries, opening new horizons for urban architecture where functionality and aesthetic vision are no longer in conflict.
About RENOLIT ALKORPLAN roofing products
Part of the German RENOLIT Group, RENOLIT ALKORPLAN roofing products is one of the reference points for the production of durable, versatile, and high-quality certified synthetic membranes for waterproofing roofs and covers, swimming pools, and civil engineering works. Headquartered in Sant Celoni, north of Barcelona, the market unit has about 350 employees and a production of one million rolls of membranes a year.
Reliability, impeccable style, energy saving, sustainability, quick installation, and high durability are the strengths of RENOLIT ALKORPLAN roofing membranes.
Main characteristics of the Roofing Division are the wide range of products, a flexible customer-oriented approach, strong know-how and all-round technical assistance on site, thus providing suitable roofing solutions to each specific problem.
About the Company
The RENOLIT Group is a globally active specialist for high-quality plastic films, sheets and other polymer solutions. With more than thirty production sites and sales units in over twenty countries, and with annual sales of EUR 1.168 billion in fiscal year 2023, the company with headquarters in Worms – around 70 km south of Frankfurt-am-Main – is one of the world’s leading plastic products manufacturers. Around 5,000 employees continue to further develop the knowledge and expertise gained from seventy-five years of business.
