Platform on concrete and steel in construction
The VRT has selected a partner for the construction of the new VRT House. The contract will be awarded to the construction team consisting of OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen, Jaspers-Eyers Architects, Bureau Bas Smets, Tractebel, CES, Ideal Acoustics, Willemen Construct, Jan De Nul Group and EEG. Under the name VRT Morgen, they are joining forces to realize the new VRT house to which the public broadcaster can move from the summer of 2026. The new media house puts maximum emphasis on flexibility and collaboration and places meeting places between VRT employees at its core. It is a compact and accessible building consisting of two stacked volumes. A ground floor with mezzanine and only three upper floors of 87 x 87 m typify the structure. A green environment flourishes in and around the new VRT House.
The candidacy for the new construction project, which fits into the transformation of the Reyers neighborhood and the realization of mediapark.brussels, started in February 2020. Through a Design & Build formula, seven construction teams submitted their candidacy. A competitive dialogue was held with some of these candidates over the past period. On the basis of this negotiation process, the VRT Board of Directors and management opted for a final award to the VRT Morgen construction team. The contract was issued just over a year ago with a maximum construction cost of 133.5 million euros. VRT Morgen will realize the building for a construction cost well within the specified contract budget.
Luc Van den Brande, Chairman of the Board of Directors VRT: "The VRT has chosen a beautiful and strong design in which the employees will feel good to be creative. The decision to choose Reyserssite again for this project is linked to the importance of the Flemish Community taking lasting responsibility in Brussels. As the largest Flemish cultural institution, the VRT is not letting go of Brussels, further strengthening the bond between Flanders and Brussels. The new building will not only be the broadcasting center but also an open house for all Flemish people."
The new management agreement makes VRT ready for the future, and this building is the perfect home for it.
Benjamin Dalle, Flemish Minister of Brussels, Youth and Media: "With the realization of the new building, our public broadcaster takes another big step towards the future. A modern media company deserves the most optimal infrastructure. The new building will be d reference within the Brussels media hub. On the legendary Reyerslaan, next to the familiar tower, there will be a modern and sustainable media building that responds to the most recent evolutions in media land. It is clear that VRT will change radically in the coming years. The impetus was given in the new management agreement; the change will soon also be very visible with the new building. It will also be a pleasant and modern workplace for VRT employees and partners."
Kristiaan Borret, Brussels master builder: "The new VRT House is a quality building that meets contemporary architectural expectations. The building fits perfectly into the urban context and the surroundings of the Reyers site."
The new 65,000 m VRT House - of which 40,000 m is above ground - will remain on the current site at Reyerslaan and is described as a horizontal building with two stacked volumes. The first octagonal volume is a base consisting of a spacious lobby, many meeting places for employees and visitors n three large television studios. On top of that comes the second volume, the work field, consisting of only three floors. Each floor consists of a particularly spacious work floor, an 87 m x 87 m square where collaboration is central. The VRT is a creative house and in the future it will be possible to create content very easily on each office floor. Flexibility and media creation go hand in hand. In terms of accessibility, the new VRT house aims for an A++ label, which stands for an excellently accessible building for visitors and employees.
"We chose a horizontal building that promotes a new way of working together and breaks silos between our departments," said VRT CEO Frederik Delaplace. "Our people will literally work together on large working platforms that can respond flexibly to how media evolve in the coming decades. The building forms a new living world for employees: a place where creation and interaction are central and where we can make media anywhere."
The new VRT House is a compact building, integrated into the natural environment and with a limited ecological footprint. On the one hand, the construction project chooses to preserve as many existing trees as possible and, on the other hand, the new building is 100% free of fossil fuels. A well-insulated building envelope is used and the building is heated entirely using recovered heat and heat pumps. There are a further 2,300 m of solar panels on the roof to support the electrical system.
The VRT also literally chooses a green building with five large interior gardens and adjacent terraces. The combination with the trees and park makes this a distinctly green environment, inside and out.
The construction team's ambition is to get started as soon as possible. In the coming months, VRT staff will be closely involved to establish how the brands and departments will relate to each other spatially. Meanwhile, the file is being prepared for the building permit application. Once this permit is delivered, the exact start date of the works will be determined. The goal is to move in from the summer of 2026.
The new VRT House is a versatile building, both literally because of its octagonal basic volume and figuratively. It is the ideal place to create media, a home for employees and a meeting place for visitors.
Basic: The basis is an octagonal volume where the connection with the surroundings is important. There is a spacious and inviting reception area, an event space of 500 m , a company restaurant, three large television studios and logistics work areas such as loading and unloading areas, the direction, lodges ... Parking will be underground.`
Field: On top of the base is the field of three floors or work floors, perforated by five interior gardens. On these three open work floors, collaboration and meeting are central. This is where the news studio and the radio studios are located and where you can easily create media because various media facilities are integrated on the work floor. There are also places to collaborate, brainstorm, work in silence ... depending on what an employee is looking for.
Kersten Geers (Architect, OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen): "The VRT will soon be housed in a compact and horizontal building. A bit like a flattened VRT tower, because the building is almost as wide as the tower is now high. This volume is like a complete allotment, a field for all VRT brands and departments. That media field is supported by a versatile base."
David Van Severen (Architect, OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen): "The new VRT is a culture factory, it's a studio to make media. Wherever you want. And everyone is near each other. No distance, but cooperation, consultation and creation. Many gardens in the building and grandiose trees around it create a totally new, inspiring environment."
John Eyers (Architect, Jaspers-Eyers Architects): "The design revolves around the meeting of people. An open, central staircase connects the work floors and common areas. And interaction is also central there thanks to the presence of several gardens and pleasant meeting areas."
Bas Smets (Landscape architect, Bureau Bas Smets): "The building is built around five spacious interior gardens accessible from the work spaces. Exuberant vegetation filters daylight on the one hand and purifies the air on the other. Thanks to the clever positioning of the building in the site, the existing large trees in the park are maximally preserved. As a result, the building simultaneously overlooks the existing public park and looks into the intimate gardens on the inside."
The new VRT House is a horizontal building with a total area of about 65,000 m, of which 40,000 m is above ground. The building consists of two stacked volumes. The ground floor has a very inviting reception area and faces the media square, the city and the park. There are also three open, spacious floors where meeting and collaboration are central. There is less distance between the departments and management and many more people work on one floor, so that VRT employees are literally and figuratively closer together.
The central entrance is on the new media square, opposite the new RTBF building. The VRT House wants to be an open, accessible and inviting meeting place for employees and visitors. Everyone is welcome and the entrance hall radiates this. The walls of the building consist of glass, giving you a unique view into the media house and literally focusing on transparency. The main entrance is located in a car-free, green zone where cyclists and pedestrians can get around safely. The building provides an abundance of bicycle parking spaces with associated amenities, showers and lockers.
The hall can be compared to a lively marketplace, as the vibrant heart of the new media house. In the reception area is a central, open staircase that leads to the various floors. There are many coffee corners and meeting places, where VRT employees and visitors can meet.
The spacious lobby flows into the company restaurant followed by a large outdoor terrace. There are also a pleasant reception area for the studio audience attending a recording and a large event space, also for public events. Ideal for making the building also accessible to visitors attending performances, for example.
The new building is first and foremost a creative place and is fully committed to flexibility and media creation. Thus, media can be created from throughout the building. The necessary facilities and tools will be available everywhere.
The five green interior gardens of 14 x 22 meters are embedded in the core of the building and each will have its own identity with native trees and shrubs. The adjacent terraces are freely accessible and provide a pleasant, inspiring and, above all, green working environment.
The news studio is located in the middle of the work area, on the second floor. A glass wall connects this studio to the heart of the editorial office. The radio studios and flexible places to create content are also located in the VRT Field.
In addition, three large television studios are present in the Basic VRT, the lower volume of the building.
The new VRT House is a compact building, integrated into the natural environment and with a limited ecological footprint. The construction project is committed to safeguarding as many existing trees as possible and preserving the green qualities of the site. Moreover, the new building 100% is fossil fuel free. It uses a well-insulated building envelope, minimizing the need for heating. 'First avoid, then green' is the motto here. Natural gas or fuel oil are no longer used and the building is heated entirely with the help of heat pumps and geothermal heat, among other things, making maximum use of heat recovery and activating inertia. Some 2,300 m of solar panels will be installed on the roof to support the electrical system.
Some leading players in the Belgian construction sector found each other in their similar vision and values, and united in the construction team VRT Morgen. Driven by past fruitful collaborations, these parties found each other through their complementarity for this project.
Jelle Machiels (Project Manager VRT Morgen, Willemen Construct): "We want to build well from the first time. An intense collaboration is therefore crucial. We are constantly refining the design from all angles. We sit around the table with a lot of experience, enthusiasm and with one common goal: the realization of a fantastic new VRT house. All noses in the same direction!"
Sofie Herreman (Sales Manager, Tractebel): "VRT Morgen designed a compact, open and dynamic media house where creation is central. The building sets an example towards user comfort, energy efficiency and biodiversity. In addition, it is connecting, inspiring and flexible, just like the construction team."
Louwers Mediagroep
Schatbeurderlaan 6
6002 ED Weert
© 1987 - 2025 Louwers Media Group.
