En 1930, la Boerentoren d'Anvers, haute de 87,5 mètres, était le premier gratte-ciel d'Europe.

Aujourd'hui, cette tour emblématique a fait un pas de plus vers sa nouvelle destination.

Asbestos removal and heritage preservation

The Boerentoren, an iconic monument in the heart of Antwerp, has a rich history dating back to the late 1920s. Originally designed as a residential and office tower commissioned by the then Algemeene Bankvereeniging, the building underwent various renovations and extensions over the decades. The first noteworthy renovation took place in the 1970s, a period when asbestos was still widely used as a building material, for example as protection against fire.

As the executive architect for a radical asbestos removal and demolition phase, we stripped the tower down to its shell, a 3,500-tonne steel skeleton. And you can take that literally... apart from the asbestos, the walls and floor slabs were also removed.

Asbestos inventory

In 1993, the then owner, Kredietbank, took the initiative to remove asbestos from the building. After this initial clean-up, a residual asbestos inventory was drawn up and a management programme implemented. However, during new renovation work at the end of 2017, commissioned by KBC BANK nv, asbestos was discovered again that had not been included in the existing inventory. After positive air measurements, the owner decided to completely vacate the building and start a comprehensive asbestos removal programme.

From thorough remediation to shell structure

After an extensive destructive and non-destructive inventory of the asbestos applications, an implementation file was drawn up in 2019 for a thorough and final asbestos remediation to achieve an asbestos-safe building.

This resulted in a detailed remediation plan, in which the building was dismantled down to the shell structure of both the listed building and the extensions dating from the 1970s.
Both the contractor and the client insisted on a thorough quality inspection that goes beyond the current Belgian standards in order to achieve thehighest possible quality guarantee in terms of safety.

The main supporting structure of steel, brick and concrete was retained, as were the historic façades and staircases. This not only brought the original construction phase of the 1920s into sharper focus, but also accurately documented later modifications from the 1970s and 1993. The damage caused by a bomb hit during the Second World War was also mapped out.

Sustainable innovations for the future

During the renovation work, asbestos applications in the roof structure from the original construction phase (1920-1930) were also discovered. As part of the renovation, this was completely renewed and provided with new waterproofing.
The existing reinforced concrete floors, where the risk of asbestos contamination was greatest due to old sprayed coatings, were replaced and the steel support structure from the 1920s was completely sandblasted and any direct damage to the structure repaired.

With a view to the future use of the Boerentoren and pending a final design, it was decided not to replace part of the floors at this stage.

The historic steel structure is now fully visible and shows its monumental character.

Preservation of historical heritage

Although the original, historical interior finish of the Boerentoren was lost during earlier construction phases, the preservation of valuable architectural elements was central to the renovation work.

The renovation work was carried out using low-vibration renovation methods.
The historic stairwells, the valuable façades and the steel skeleton structure of the “first skyscraper in Europe”, which is partly riveted and partly bolted, are being preserved and protected.
Local damage to the steel structure and natural stone has been skilfully restored.