At the beginning of the 1960s, three large Belgian companies set their sights on one of the greenest areas in Brussels to build their headquarters there. Watermael-Boitsfort is thus home to three emblematic buildings of the modern post-war period: CBR, Glaverbel and Royale Belge. All three testify to a corporate architecture, with a strong visual identity, bearing the modern desire to build in a green landscape.

Among this trilogy, the building of Royal Belge, occupied until 2017 by AXA Belgium, is now inexorably empty. This huge monofunctional complex with copper-colored windows and a corten steel frame, surrounded by a green area of about ten hectares, is therefore being reconverted into a mixed project capable of accommodating a variety of functions. A place where it will be possible to work but also to live and have fun.

The new owner of the premises, Souverain 25, wishes to reposition the site into a coherent, living and emblematic multifunctional complex with a new identity. The challenge will be to organize this mix within the building, to make the best use of the available space while respecting modernist architecture and preserving the building as well as possible. The integration of the project into its environment will also need to be addressed with particular attention.

At this stage, the client is looking for a designer to develop a creative spatial proposal that emphasizes the unique quality of the building. After the selection of the latter, the client will add a heritage expert, a Natura 2000 expert, a landscape architect and (possibly) an office of executive architects to the team.