Belgium scoops up two ‘real estate Oscars’
With Treurenberg in Brussels (designed by Assar) and Paradis Express in Liège (designed by Jaspers-Eyers), Belgium secured two Mipim Awards in Cannes this year. These are the Oscars for professional real estate. Treurenberg won in the ‘best innovative green building’ category while Paradis Express triumphed in the category of ‘best futura project’.
Treurenberg in Brussels is the first ‘net zero energy’ office building in Brussels. It was developed by AXA Investment Managers for Axa Belgium and the design was created by the Belgian firm Assar Architects. This Brussels-based architectural firm has previously received seven Mipim Awards. The development of Paradis Express in Liège is in the hands of Fedimmo. The architects are Association A2M, Jaspers-Eyers and BAG.
Groen Kwartier in Antwerp and Le Toison d’Or in Brussels were also nominated for the awards. The last time Belgium featured among the winners at the Mipim Awards, dates back to 2012, with the new police station in Charleroi and the extension of the choreographic centre Charleroi/Danses.
To determine the winners of the awards, a voting system is used in which participants to the conference as well as a professional jury each represent 50% of the score. Among the nominees were top architects such as Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid and Jean Nouvel. This year 23,500 real estate professionals participated in the real estate fair.