3 Belgian firms nominated for the MIPIM Awards 2012

One project from Wallonia and two from Brussels have been nominated for the Mipim Awards 2012.

The Walloon project is the “Hôtel de Police and Charleroi Danses”, designed by the architects Atelier Jean Nouvel and MDW Architecture, which are up for an award in the “Best Futura Project” category. The aim is to give the police a public and accessible image and to open the site out towards the city. A twenty-storey conical tower, 75-metres high, will be visible from different vantage points around the city. This tower will be the first passive tower in Belgium and among the first of its kind in the world. Alongside it, the Charleroi Danses arts centre will be linked to the tower via a vast open public esplanade.

The first of the Brussels-based projects in the running for the awards is the “Midi-Suède” project, which is the work of the architectural firm Urban Platform. It is competing in the “Best Residential Development” category. This is a residential project that meets several criteria. First of all, it is passive in terms of energy consumption, a central concern in the Region's real estate policy. Furthermore, Midi-Suède not only makes it possible to deliver a large number of new homes but also contributes to the renovation of the district around Midi station (TGV, Thalys, Eurostar), another key policy focus for the Region's government.