OMA / Reinier de Graaf together with Jaspers-Eyers Architects and Assar Architects won the competition for a 75,000 square meters head office for the Belgian Railway that will bring together all departments under the same roof.
The plan preserves three existing monuments next to the Brussels South train station, that were inaugurated on the occasion of the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair, and adds an 11-story 236 meters long volume that faces the rail tracks.
OMA Partner Reinier de Graaf explains: “ The addition is an expression of the double nature of Brussels’ progress. It embraces the Belgian Brussels, with its early, and often courageous expressions of modern architecture, and the European Brussels, for which the European railway and the Brussels-South stand as symbols.”
Alongside office space the building will include conference and training rooms, a fitness center and restaurant. At street level retail spaces and access points to the trail tracks aim to improve street livelihood.
The elongated facade will reflect the diversity of activities inside as well as convey the openness and transparency of the public organization.
The design is part of a bid by the consortium BESIX Group, BPC/BPI and Immobel. The SNCB NMBS headquarters will be OMA’s first large scale project in Belgium.
