Royale Belge
The Royale Belge former headquarters is a functionalist building, built 1967–1970, located in Watermael-Boitsfort, a municipality of Brussels, Belgium..
History
Construction began on 4 April 1967, followed by formal inauguration on 25 June 1970. The client was the insurer Royale Belge. After it was merged into the French AXA in 1999, the complex was sold to Cofinimmo and leased back until 2018. AXA moved its Belgian headquarters to the Place du Trône/Troonplein in 2017. The United States became the new owner of the buildings on the Boulevard du Souverain/Vorstlaan, with the intention of housing the US Embassy. However, the structure proved unsuitable for supporting heavy bulletproof glass. To avoid drastic transformations, the Brussels-Capital Region's government placed the building on its safeguarding list, after which the Americans abandoned the project.Completed in June 2023, major renovation works transformed the Royale Belge into a mixed-use complex comprising offices, a food court, as well as a hotel, a spa, a fitness centre, and coworking and conference spaces. This project was carried out by the British architectural firm Caruso St John, the Antwerp-based Bovenbouw architectuur, DDS+, Francis Metzger, and Atelier Eole, responsible for the landscape. In 2024, this sustainable and energy-efficient restoration was awarded the Europa Nostra Award 2024, a prize awarded by the European Commission for 22 years, as well as two MIPIM Awards for "Best Redevelopment Project" and "Best Mixed-Use Project". The building was acquired by the Swiss insurance group Bâloise in 2022 for an estimated sum of 160 million euros.