Client: General Services Antwerp NV
Status: Executed
Photographer: Sarah Blee
In 1930, Antwerp's 87.5m tall Boerentoren was Europe's first skyscraper.
Today, the iconic tower is one step closer to its new destination.
As the executive architect of a radical asbestos removal and demolition phase, we dressed the tower down to its shell, a skeleton of 3,500 tonnes of steel. And you can take that literally... apart from the asbestos, the walls and floor slabs were also removed. Of course, new floors were eventually installed on various (not all) levels of the building.
The restoration planning of the façade elements that had suffered damage during a fire in 2022 is definitely worth mentioning. The fire had caused discolouration of the natural stones. Restoring these as faithfully as possible, both in terms of colour and material, was a fine challenge.
On the third floor of the building, we discovered unrepaired damage dating back to World War II. This damage to the connection of the steel beams and façade column was also professionally repaired.
