Transformation of the Brussels stock exchange into the “Belgian beer World”

Converting the Brussels Stock Exchange into a public gallery and Belgian Beer Experience Centre and transforming the archaeological site Bruxella 1238.

Tourist, commercial and cultural centre around beer near the Grand Place in Brussels (in the UNESCO World Heritage list).

Listed historic building (major heritage) with integration of the archaeological site “Bruxella 1238” under the Rue de la Bourse.

Designed to house a public gallery, the Belgian Beer Experience Centre (BEC), premises linked to the archaeological site, a conference centre, a public brewery, and a panoramic rooftop brasserie (sky bar), a restaurant with its own kitchens, a commercial and administrative area, and a services area.

It is planned to replace the technical installations with new, more efficient ones, including a boiler room with high-efficiency condensing gas boilers, gas heat pumps (heating and cooling), double-flow ventilation with heat recovery, underfloor heating, centralized technical management, cold rooms, sanitary and fire protection installations, mechanical smoke extraction system, as well as studies for photovoltaic sensors, a ‘Riothermie’ installation with a reversible heat pump in the public sewage system, in cooperation with Vivaqua.

The building contains a domestic high voltage cabin and a network cabin that supplies the district, which had to be moved beforehand.

The project will offer an interactive, dynamic, and experience-oriented environment, and will allow a wide audience to discover Belgian beer and the entire brewing culture that surrounds it at their own pace and according to their own interests. The project was designed by a multidisciplinary team including architects, heritage architects, scenographers, museographers, acousticians, signage, and lighting designers.