U-Square (Building ABC), presented on the Usquare website as UR Square, is a transitional occupation project in Brussels, Belgium, developed on the site of the former Ixelles barracks. The project is located at the intersection of Boulevard Général Jacques and Avenue de la Couronne, on the Usquare site in the municipality of Ixelles.
The initiative is part of the broader transformation of the former Ixelles Gendarmerie School into a new urban district open to the city. According to the project description, Usquare is managed long-term by the Brussels Urban Development Corporation, SAU, while the transitional occupation itself is operated by the non-profit organization WonderMei. WonderMei is responsible for site management and for coordinating activities with residents and neighbours.
UR Square is described as a collective project focused on community use of the site. It hosts activities open to the public and aims to bring together residents, visitors, and the academic community. The site is presented as a place for sustainable, circular, social, educational, cultural, creative, and innovative initiatives. The existing buildings are being used as spaces for expression, work, and residence while the wider redevelopment of the site advances.
The project sits within a larger redevelopment agenda for the former barracks, which is intended to open the area to the city and create new public uses. Usquare is also linked to university involvement, with ULB and VUB among the institutions associated with the long-term project. In this way, U-Square functions both as a temporary occupation and as part of a larger public redevelopment in Brussels.
