Over Revive

About Revive

Places with a history often offer the greatest potential for the most beautiful future scenarios. Based on this vision, Revive started as a specialist in brownfield development 15 years ago. We transform obsolete and polluted industrial sites into vibrant places to live and work. WATT The Health is therefore much more than a real estate project; it is the blueprint for a lifestyle revolution.

Ecological and social sustainability

Re-use

Re-purpose

Re-store

Re-connect

we build society

Social and ecological gains are as important to us as financial success. People, local nature and city should reinforce each other. We do not innovate just to innovate, and we do not demolish just to demolish. We preserve and reuse what is good and sustainably improve what is less good.

From this vision, we have defined four pillars. Re-use refers to reusing what is already there. This is about building on underused sites such as empty buildings and recovering materials and pursuing a circular economy. Re-purpose is about repurposing sites, respecting heritage, and leaving existing nature untouched. Re-store is all about nature and social restoration. Finally, Re-connect is about social cohesion and connection between new residents, nature and local neighbourhoods.

Seeing people connect, that’s what energizes me.

Laila De Bruyne, Community Builder ‘t Verband

“We build society” is our slogan, and we mean it in the literal sense of the word. In all the projects we develop, we focus on building new residential areas. All facets of housing, living and working are important in this regard. We want to develop warm neighbourhoods where people feel good, help each other and set up social initiatives. Based on the conviction that a project is only truly successful when it is also a good place to live and work, we appoint a community builder for each of our projects who connects. We do this after the construction process, but also before and during the works, through – among other things – temporary site use projects in which everything revolves around connection, creativity and fun.

Respect for the past

We soon realised that these valuable sites often contain valuable buildings that deserve our full attention. Because ‘using first what has been used before’ is still the basic principle in sustainable business. And in doing so, we always start from respect for the past. Preserving and highlighting the valuable (heritage) elements of the sites in our designs is a must, thereby also taking into account the activities that are or were present at the location.

The clinic site in Gentbrugge has been home to health actors for centuries, and we wanted to strengthen that by transforming the place into a healthy, green neighbourhood that serves as a base for healthcare companies.

The old Sint-Jozef clinic in Gentbrugge

The cholera epidemics in 1849 and 1865-1866 created a need for new care institutions in Ghent. At the request of the then parish priest of Gentbrugge, Henri Bouckaert (1834-1909), castle lord Philippe Van de Velde had a hospice built on his estate in Gentbrugge. The Sisters of St Vincentius à Paulo in Waarschoot were asked to provide nursing and care.

On 10 October 1881 the Saint Joseph Institute was officially opened. A bull’s-eye, it seems, because the site soon expanded and more doctors found their way to Gentbrugge, including the newly promoted doctor Odilon Van der Linden. Under his leadership, the site grew into an – for its time – ultra-modern hospital.

On 1 January 1999, AZ Maria Middelares merged with Sint-Jozef. The Medical Centre in Gentbrugge was thoroughly renovated and, since 2016, the polyclinic, radiology, dialysis and sports medical rehabilitation provide an attractive local care offer for consultations and day hospitalisations.

Odilon Van der Linden

Professor Odilon Van der Linden is indisputably linked to St Joseph’s Hospital. He pioneered by performing the first surgical procedure at the clinic in 1888.

Meet the team
Julie Daelman

Julie Daelman
Commercial Executive B2B

Silke van Damme

Silke Van Damme
Project Developer

Laila De Bruyne

Laila De Bruyne
Impact Manager

Benoit Dubrulle

Benoit Dubrulle
Marketing & Go to market Manager

Margot Calle

Margot Calle
Legal Counsel

Bart De Vos

Bart De Vos
Senior Construction Manager

Boudewijn De Coninck

Boudewijn De Coninck
Environmental Manager

Frédéric Buyssens

Frédéric Buyssens
Commercial Real Estate Manager B2B

Revive B Corp certified

First ever B Corp Certified real estate developer

Revive was the first Belgian company to be awarded the B Corp certificate, the most objective proof that social and ecological objectives are at least as important as profit. It’s all about “Using Business as a Force For Good”. On our social media channels you can read under #WeGoBeyond what Revive is doing to make the world a better place.