Making technical works visible
Bastion Tower is an office tower in central Brussels. Its owner was replacing the entire heating plant: from fuel oil to a hybrid system, gas plus an electric heat pump, installed on the roof.
This kind of project matters for an office building. It improves energy performance and speaks to current and future tenants alike. But it happens out of sight, at the top of a tower, in a single day of lifting.
What I brought
A 600-tonne crane, a 130-metre boom and a boiler plant of more than seven tonnes to set on the roof: that moment cannot be replayed. I was there from the crane assembly the evening before, then for the whole lifting day, from dawn.
The drone circled the tower above the city, followed the loads up to the roof, then came down along the façade to the foot of the building. From the top, the camera stayed close to the crews guiding each load.
Morning light on the white façade, the boom higher than the tower, the city out to the horizon: the images place the building as much as they show the works.
What the images made possible
The film, short and rhythmic, carries the key figures of the tower’s energy transition. A vertical version was cut for social media. Made first for LinkedIn, it was also published by one of the project partners on its own video channel.
The aerial photos live on beside the film: one of them illustrated the Trends-Tendances article “Les grandes tours bruxelloises face au défi énergétique”, credited to me.
What it means for your building
Technical works are a chance to communicate. A new boiler plant is invisible: a film makes it real for your tenants and future occupiers.
A crane lift cannot be replayed. Plan the shoot with the site schedule and keep some slack: the exact time is often set at the last minute.
The drone places the building in its city. The same views then serve the leasing, long after the works are over.
Think about safety from the shoot onwards: helmets, gloves, footwear. What appears on screen commits the owner.
Do you have works on a building to make known? Write me a few lines about the project.