Brussels-North station acquires heritage status

Brussels-North station - the capital's busiest railway station and second-largest behind Midi - has been granted official recognition and protection for its architectural heritage.

The Brussels government has listed large parts of the complex - which attracts 59,000 passengers per day - as monuments, confirming this with an entry in the Belgian Official Gazette.

The iconic Modernist concrete building, with its cubist appearance, strict symmetry and vertical lines in the facade, is the work of architects Paul and Jacques Saintenoy, assisted by Jean Hendrickx Van den Bosch.

Located in Schaerbeek, just off Place Rogier, and built primarily between 1952 and 1956, it replaced the former monumental Neoclassical-style station, designed by François Coppens and destroyed in 1955.

Parts of today’s railway mecca are “inscribed on the preservation list as monuments because of their historical, aesthetic and artistic value”, the Gazette makes clear.

“This decision ensures the preservation of the remarkable historical elements of the building,” Brussels state secretary for urbanism and Heritage Ans Persoons (Vooruit), said.

“Brussels-North is not only a place you pass by, or a purely functional building: it is one of the most important gateways to Brussels and a landmark in the urban landscape of our capital.

“Recognising, protecting and valuing this railway heritage therefore confirms the identity of our city and ensures that its typical post-war modernist architecture is preserved for future generations.”

This recognition includes the station’s clock tower, facade and roof, the ticket hall “with its monumental U-shaped staircase”, the former train museum hall, seven platforms “and their associated original features, including the waiting rooms, shelters, former wooden telephone booths and solid wooden benches”.

A few years ago, these benches nearly disappeared in favour of metal ones, but following protests, several wooden benches were preserved by the SNCB.

Recognition does not mean that the SNCB cannot alter the building, Persoons’ cabinet made clear. The railway company “can still adapt the building to the modern needs and comfort of passengers,” it said. This means escalators, lifts, screens and loudspeakers can still be installed, “with respect for the heritage”.

Major renovation work was completed at the end of 2019, with the station hall “restored to its former glory” and lifts and escalators installed on every platform.

Persoons said that the recognition is also part of the redevelopment of the Brussels-North district into a “lively, green and multifunctional space”, with Brussels-North station a central element of this.

The station’s classification follows the recognition of Brussels-Central and Brussels-Congress stations as monuments on the Belgian capital’s heritage list.