Project description by Snøhetta
The design updates the building to its immediate surroundings as well as to the context of Brussels at large in a variety of ways. While the characteristic forms and silhouette of the existing building are maintained, radical rethinking of the façade and interior spatial organization is meant to position the project to meet contemporary demands.
The new façade, modular and simple in appearance, takes on key building services such as passive ventilation and PV panels. By adding these functions to the façade, the technical burden inside the building is alleviated, making the space more flexible and easier to re-purpose while minimizing the necessary demolition of existing construction.
In the interiors, the design aims to strengthen and prolong public space with rooftop amenities such as a plaza garden, which gives a dazzling view of the Royal Theater of La Monnaie and the Munt Plaza, and a publicly accessible tower rooftop hotel lobby and restaurant with sweeping city views.
The project aspires to be extremely energy and resource efficient, employing circular design principles to transform the Centre Monnaie into a highly sustainable building. Focus areas include ensuring flexibility in use, transformability, reuse and reusability, recyclability and doing life cycle analyses (LCA) of the project. Moreover, the project aims to produce its own, clean energy through PV-panels on the roof and façade. The project will target BREEAM certification.
The competition jury stated that Snøhetta and Binst Architect’s proposal differentiates itself “by its respect for the architectural value of the existing building and its integration into the urban context,” in addition to its well-founded sustainability concept reducing the building’s environmental footprint.
Snøhetta and Binst Architects will be assisted by the Brussels architectural firms DDS and ADE in the execution of the project. The transformation will redefine this iconic building and give it a new role in the city’s skyline when completed.
The competition for the redevelopment of the Centre Monnaie/Muntcentrum building was launched in September 2019 by Immobel, Whitewood and DW Partners together with Bouwmeester Maître Architecte of Brussels (BMA). The competition featured 54 entries out of which five candidates were shortlisted before the winner was announced. The jury was composed of representatives from the Brussels-Capital Region, the City of Brussels, the Brussels Bouwmeester/Maître Architecte and the Brussels firms Immobel and Whitewood.
Norwegian architecture studio Snøhetta and Belgian partner Binst Architects have been selected in an international architecture competition to reform the famous Monnaie / Muntcentrum Center in Brussels, Belgium.
The 63-meter-tall building is known for its iconic, cross-shaped form. The 1970s building is situated above “The Mint” shopping center in one of the busiest areas of Brussels city center, only a stone’s throw from The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie opera house, the bustling Place de Brouckère and the De Brouckère metro station.
It long sat at the heart of the city center as an office building and commercial hub. The renovation will transform the 62,000 m² structure into a mixed-use complex, with residential, commercial and leisure functions.
The 63-meter-tall building is known for its iconic, cross-shaped form. The 1970s building is situated above “The Mint” shopping center in one of the busiest areas of Brussels city center, only a stone’s throw from The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie opera house, the bustling Place de Brouckère and the De Brouckère metro station.
It long sat at the heart of the city center as an office building and commercial hub. The renovation will transform the 62,000 m² structure into a mixed-use complex, with residential, commercial and leisure functions.
Snøhetta team will offer the citizens of Brussels a renewed and contemporary space with an energy-efficient retrofit, designing a mixed-use space with residential, commercial and leisure functions, the new program will equipped better the building to serve the city’s changing needs.
More information
Snøhetta is an architecture, landscape, and interior design studio with offices in Oslo, Norway, and New York City, USA. Founded in 1989, it is led by Craig Dykers and Kjetil Thorsen. The studio, named in honour of Mount Snøhetta, the highest peak in the Dovrefjell mountains of Norway, has approximately 100 collaborators working on large-scale international projects across a wide range of typologies. Their approach is deeply collaborative and transdisciplinary, bringing together architects, designers, engineers, and landscape professionals to explore multiple perspectives depending on the nature of each project.
Snøhetta has completed a series of world-renowned cultural and landmark projects, including the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt, the Oslo Opera House and Ballet, and the Lillehammer Art Museum in Norway. Current projects include the National Pavilion of the September 11 Memorial Museum at the World Trade Center site in New York, as well as urban and landscape developments that aim to merge local identity, sustainability, and public experience.
In 2004, Snøhetta was awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, and in 2009, the Mies van der Rohe Award. The studio is the only practice to have won the World Architecture Award for Best Cultural Building twice in consecutive years: in 2002 for the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and in 2008 for the Oslo Opera House and Ballet, consolidating its international prestige.
Kjetil Trædal Thorsen (born 1958 on the coastal island of Karmøy, Norway) is a co-founder of the studio and a multiple award-winning architect. He is a visionary and humanist designer who has redefined the boundaries of contemporary practice. Under his leadership, Snøhetta has produced iconic, sustainable structures that are highly sensitive to their cultural context, combining technological innovation with a profound environmental awareness. Thorsen’s work is recognized for its focus on social interaction, sustainability, and the creation of spaces that foster human connection and sensory experience, establishing a benchmark in contemporary global architecture.
Craig Dykers (born 1961 in Frankfurt, Germany) is also a co-founder of the studio and director of its New York office. Snøhetta has earned a reputation for maintaining a deep integration of landscape, architecture, and urban experience across all its projects. Key works include the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt, the Oslo Opera House and Ballet, the National Pavilion of the September 11 Memorial Museum in New York, and the redesign of Times Square. Professionally and academically active, Dykers has been a member of the Norwegian Association of Architects (NAL), the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and the Royal Society of Arts in England. He has served as a diploma juror at the Architectural College in Oslo and as a distinguished professor at City College, New York. He has delivered numerous lectures across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, and has undertaken public art installation projects, many of which explore the interplay between context, landscape, and human experience.
Published on:
June 12, 2020
Cite:
"Centre Monnaie Renovation, in Brussels, by Snøhetta and Binst Architects " METALOCUS.
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