2018: a whirlwind year for transforma

2018 was a crazy year for us! We worked really hard to bring a variety of projects to life: new co-creation rooms, a hardware prototyping space, a permaculture garden… and in a few days, we’ll have the pleasure of opening a second transforma in the center of Brussels, as well as celebrating our 5th anniversary! Five years of human adventures and innovation with a community of more than 150 transformers. But for now, let’s do a quick flashback on what 2018 brought us.

Makers, you’ve got a new home

In December, we inaugurated Cityfab2, a makerspace created in collaboration with the Brussels-Capital Region that allows for the manufacture of objects with the assistance of digital tools.

This terrific place provides startups, entrepreneurs, designers, artists, students and handy(wo)men with 3D printers, CNC (computer-assisted numerical milling machines for cutting wood, plexiglass …), a large laser-cutting machine, electronic tools and a media lab (augmented reality and virtual reality).

The prototyping space is also focused on the Internet of Things (IoT). It is the perfect inspiring and motivating environment that aims to facilitate sustainable innovation, collaborative creativity and entrepreneurial exchanges between startups and established companies.

We dream up inspiring spaces

Anyone who has ever visited or worked at transforma knows that we don’t do things like everybody else, especially when it comes to workspaces. We love that our spaces inspire collaboration, co-creation, fun and team spirit. So, we decided to give to our Hive and Clouds meeting rooms new vibrant looks.

The Hive was a pretty sad room with no color, lights or inspiration that we transformed into a green, fresh and natural environment. The room is 100% sustainable. Everything was designed and produced on site in our makerspace: the cardboard beehive, the high trees, the mountains, and pine trees on the back wall.

We want our guests to experience a change of scenery from the very moment they step through the door at transforma. The Hive is no exception: it’s all about good vibes and encouraging a positive and creative mindset that helps visitors achieve (and even surpass!) their goals.

The Clouds was a very traditional and minimalistic meeting room with plain white walls. We wanted to twist everything a little bit to put an end to dull and impersonal meetings. Our concept: heads in the clouds.

We collaborated with Whoops, a very talented artist who painted a colorful fresco which creates the perfect balance between inspiration and productivity. Now, when visitors enter the room they appreciate the playful toys flying above their heads as well as the peaceful atmosphere of the room.

Go Green

2018 was also the year of the creation of the permaculture garden. Our goal: to transform and enhance the garden around our innovation playground.

Supported by “Inspirons le quartier”, the project received a scholarship as well as didactic and practical support to make it a collectively managed space, open to coworkers and citizen initiatives. The program includes practical and user-friendly workshops.

Since its creation, the garden has already developed very well. With the enthusiastic help of citizens and the expert advice of transforma members such as Plaisir-Vert, we already have a compost heap, a vegetable garden, raised permaculture garden beds, a pergola, flower beds for our bees and a food forest welcoming 51 newly planted fruit trees and shrubs.

We are always thinking about future plans. We want to integrate the garden into the dynamics of sustainable neighborhoods and citizens. We’ll meet on Sunday 6th January for a brainstorming session with members of the association “Terre et conscience”, to discuss reworking the design of the permaculture garden.

They will help us to structure the project, to facilitate workshops (culinary workshops and permaculture best practices) and to improve our teamwork. If you would like to join us, you’re more than welcome! Just email community@transformabxl.be and we’ll tell you all you need to know.

New location : transforma Loi

What could be more exciting than ending 2018 by announcing the opening of a second transforma?! On Monday 7th January 2019 transforma Loi will open its doors! Located on 42 Rue de la Loi in 1000 Brussels, our members will enjoy a cozy coworking space and a meeting room in the vibrant European Neighborhood.

With this new location, we want to continue to offer our transformers greater flexibility, comfort and increased possibilities to boost their businesses. It is the ideal spot if you want to meet with a client in town, or if you need to work in the morning and go to an appointment in the city in the afternoon.

It goes without saying that we’ll organise networking events, meetups and other great content to keep you innovative and on your toes. In a few words: same great concept, second great location!

A bigger team to match big ambitions

transforma bxl has reached a stage of maturity and offers now a unique entrepreneurial ecosystem: 3100m2 over two locations, a radiant community, coworking, a hardware prototyping space (fablab), a logistics center for e-commerce, a permaculture project, a podcasting studio, a media lab dedicated to new media (VR, AR …), co-creation spaces, programs of acceleration and corporate innovation, collaboration, creativity, work but especially personal fulfillment and well-being at work.

In order to keep up with the growth of the project, the entrepreneurial journey that began with two crazy guys in 2014 has now grown to a team of 13 talented, motivated and committed people: innovation facilitators, communication and event organiser teams, fablab managers, … etc.

Together, we work to bring you the best of sustainable innovation!

Now: let’s party!

We would like to celebrate all these good stuff on Jan 17 for the transforma 5th anniversary. You’re welcome to join us and enjoy: workshops, talks, members show and tell, followed by a walking dinner and an acoustic concert 🎼🎹🎤!

Invite your friends, network, and coworkers too. They can choose to attend the event(s) of their interest, or even better stay with us for the day make the most of free coworking and networking. All the events are free but for some of them registration is mandatory.

See you in 2019,
transforma team.

Check the program festival and register now! 

👇