JCX – 25 Drève Du Prieuré – 1160 Brussels – Belgium – T. +32 (0)2 660 65 56
RESTORING A PRECIOUS PAST

Driven by a passion for patrimony and for cities, we are naturally interested in sites and buildings steeped in history, be it architectural, urban or industrial. In the context of ever evolving towns and cities, our motivation is to help create the city of the future through renovation, whether by rehabilitating rundown neighbourhoods, transforming abandoned industrial sites or finding new functions for prestigious buildings.

THE WIELEMANS BREWERY OFFICES

It was in 1879 that the Wielemans family bought 94a 66ca of marshy meadowland in the wooded countryside just outside Brussels as the site for their new brewery. This would replace the rue de Terre-Neuve site, in the centre of Brussels, which had been home to the Wielemans Brewery since it was founded in 1862. In 1889 the Wielemans family purchased the Métropole café and Caisse d’épargne building on the Place de Brouckère. The latter was demolished by the architects Bordiau and Champion to erect the Hôtel Métropole, which, stands on the site today. The main entrance door, the bronze pediment and a number of blue stones were retrieved from the Caisse d’épargne building by the architect Bordiau to build, in 1893, the facades of the new Wielemans-Ceuppens Brewery offices – one of three registered buildings that remain on this site. This was the first industrial building in Brussels for which the owner reclaimed elements from the collective patrimony.

Integrated into the comprehensive site renovation project, the building, known as the Métropole and known for its attractive large arched windows, later became a brasserie and restaurant.

Client: JCX Immo
Client’s representative: JCX Gestion
Architect : Art & Build
Contractor: CIT Blaton