Conference
ARCH-E x ACE: Architectural Design Competitions
Keynote by Adam Caruso
The Mix Brussels
23rd April, 2026
The ARCH-E Consortium and the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE) are organizing a conference on Architectural Design Competitions (ADCs). The program includes a keynote lecture by Adam Caruso at the start of the day, followed by panel discussions with European practitioners and policymakers as well as workshops and presentations on key topics in the field.
This conference is held at the Royal Belge building in Brussels.
Image: Competition entry for Royal Belge.
Related news
Lecture
What’s next for our existing buildings?
RIBA and VitrA talks
Great Hall at Barts North Wing, St Bartholomew’s Hospital
12th May, 2026
Our director Ben Speltz will give a talk as part of this year's RIBA x Vitra Talks series. He will discuss the practice's approach to working with existing buildings, drawing on a range of projects such as: Hospitalfield Arts, a complex amalgam of medieval buildings in Scotland; Düngerbau, an old chemical factory converted into workspace; and Royal Belge, a sixties office building transformed into a mixed-use program of restaurant, hotel and gym.
Royal Belge has been shortlisted for the RIBA International Awards. Selecting projects from five continents, the award recognizes a broad range of designs addressing global challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity, social equity, and rapid urbanization.
Our Royal Belge project is praised for its adaptive reuse strategies, extending the life of a modernist icon. The jury will visit the projects in the coming month.
Royale Belge has won the Contemporary Heritage Award at the third edition of the Brussels Architecture Prizes. The prizes celebrate contributions to the spatial quality of Brussels.
Peter St John will be the keynote speaker at the annual Solemn Opening Ceremony of the Order of Architects in Belgium. He will discuss Caruso St John’s work on transforming existing buildings in Europe.
Royale Belge has won a European Heritage / Europa Nostra Award for Conservation and Adaptive Reuse. Overseen by the European Commission in partnership with Europa Nostra, the awards celebrate and promote the highest standards in heritage interventions, research, and education, training and awareness-raising, as well the longstanding dedication of professionals and volunteers.
Royale Belge has won plaudits at the annual MIPIM real estate fair in Cannes. The project was shortlisted in two categories at the MIPIM Awards, Best Conversion and Best Mixed-use, and triumphed in both.
In conversation
Florian Zierer
Berlin International University of Applied Sciences
Berlin, Germany
8th October 2024
Florian Zierer will be in conversation at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences on 8th October 2024, introducing the practice's recent projects with existing buildings.
The project for the renovation of the Royale Belge in Brussels has now completed. An opening event was held on 28th June, hosted by Mix – a new venue encompassing a hotel, restaurant, gym and co-working space. The food hall and terrace on the ground floor has also opened, creating a new destination for the Watermaal-Bosvoorde area of Brussels. The project’s diverse functions are brought together by the new hall and staircase which creates a new centrepiece for the iconic building.
Renovation work continues at the Royale Belge in Brussels. The façade works have been completed, reinstating the original building’s iconic golden glass. The tower’s office floors and hotel rooms are nearing completion, with tenant fit-outs underway. Structural works for a new atrium have been completed, with two curved stairs connecting multiple functions across three floors. The atrium is naturally lit from above, with a large rooflight overhead that completes the pattern of the original diagrid roof.
Renovation work continues at the Royale Belge in Brussels. The façade replacement of the tower has been completed, which replicates the original design but with an expanded insulation zone. Work on the podium façade is underway, with a series of new openings connecting it to the landscape. A large cut has been made in the base of the building making way for the new atrium and four new columns to support the existing diagrid roof have been added.
Enabling works are underway at the Royale Belge in Brussels. The 1970's office building is being renovated by Caruso St John in collaboration with Bovenbouw Architectuur and DDS+.
Planning permission has been granted for the renovation and alteration of Royale Belge, a listed former company headquarters in the south of Brussels. The 39,000 sqm office building, built in 1970 and standing within a landscape that is also now listed, has been empty for the last 5 years. The new mixed use programme includes offices, hotel, health club, restaurant and co-working, and is being developed by the consortium Souverain 25.