VRT-Huis - Brussels

Description 

Construction of the new building for Flemish public broadcaster VRT in the future Mediapark at Reyerslaan in Brussels. The VRT Morgen consortium, which includes Willemen Construct, started the works in November 2022. These will take a total of four years.

Together with fellow contractor Jan De Nul, building technology group EEG, architectural firms OFFICE Kersten Geers, David Van Severen, Jaspers-Eyers Architects and Bureau Bas Smets, engineering firms Tractebel and CES and TV and radio studio builder Ideal Acoustics, Willemen Construct is taking on this challenge. Under the name 'VRT Morgen', forces are being combined to realise the new VRT House.

This new 65,000 m² VRT House will remain on the current site at Reyerslaan. It will be a compact and versatile building of two stacked volumes. The basis is an octagonal volume with a spacious lobby, an event space, a company restaurant, logistics work areas with loading and unloading zones and three large television studios. On top of that comes the second volume with a total of three floors. Each floor consists of a spacious work floor measuring 87 m x 87 m.

VRT opted for a horizontal building that promotes a new way of working. Employees will literally collaborate on large work platforms that can respond flexibly to how media evolve in the coming decades. The building will be a place where creation and interaction are central.

The new VRT House will be a compact building, integrated into the natural environment and with a limited ecological footprint. On the one hand, the building project opts to preserve as many existing trees as possible and, on the other, the new building will remain 100% free of fossil fuels. A well-insulated building envelope will be used and the building will be fully heated using recovered heat and heat pumps. A further 2,300 m² of solar panels will be installed on the roof. The building will also have five large indoor gardens and adjoining terraces. Combined with the trees and park, this will create a distinctly green environment, both inside and out.

Willemen Construct came into being on 1 July 2018 as a result of the merger between Willemen General Contractor and the construction department of Kumpen.

 
location 

Project Details

Contractor
Auguste Reyerslaan 52 B, Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
Client 
VRT
Architects 
Office Kersten Geers David Van Severen
Jaspers-Eyers Architects
Bureau Bas Smets
Temporary partnership 
VRT Morgen
Engineering Office 
Tractebel, CES, Ideal Acoustics