Five teams of designers selected for new VRT HQ

Five design teams competing for the contract to design a new headquarters for the Flemish public broadcaster VRT have been shortlisted by the office of the Flemish official architect.

The five are: a temporary consortium of Flemish architects evr, Doorzon, Denis Dujardin and vylder vinck taillieu; Christian Kerez Zurich; Office Kersten Geers David Van Severen working with KCAP, which designed the NEO leisure project at Heizel; Brussels architects Robbrecht & Daem with Dierendonckblancke, Arup and VK Engineering; and Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), the office of Rem Koolhaas based in Rotterdam. OMA was responsible for the design of the head office of the Chinese state television service in Beijing.

The new premises will be on another part of the Reyers site in Schaarbeek/Schaerbeek currently occupied by the VRT and its French-speaking counterpart, the RTBF. The VRT will take up most of the site, as the RTBF has moved in large part to Namur and Charleroi. The old buildings, in use since the 1970s, had become increasingly outdated and unsuited to a modern broadcasting service, and, with the exception of the landmark tower, will be demolished once the new complex is completed.

According to the VRT’s project document, the new building “should give users the feeling of an open campus”, and should “be an example of future-orientated thinking driven by innovation and efficiency”. The building should also be “full of character and inspiring, and must burst with energy and inspire creativity”.

The VRT received 66 applications for the job, from firms inside and outside Belgium. A jury whittled the entries down to five, who will now submit a proposal. The choice of a designer and developer will take place in March. The start of the €105 million works is scheduled for 2017, with the VRT intent on moving into its new premises in 2020.

Photo: Tim Van de Velde/Vlaams Bouwmeester