VRT

"An open house in the bustling new district on Boulevard Reyers"

Nearly thirty years after its design had been produced in 1933, the building of the National Institute for Radio Broadcasting (NIR-INR) on Place Flagey in Ixelles was obsolete: it no longer served the needs of radio broadcasting, and still less those of the new, burgeoning television broadcasting. The idea was therefore conceived of a new functional complex in which Dutch- and French-language public radio and television broadcasting operations would be accommodated together. Numerous activities would take place there, ranging from the development of programmes to the manufacture of sets, film editing and broadcast archiving.

To carry out this project, the Tir National (National Shooting Range) on Boulevard Reyers was transferred to the public broadcasting operator by the Royal Decree of 3 November 1960. The shooting range installations were demolished by explosion in April 1963, after which the construction of the broadcasting complex could begin.

Fifty years on, the current building is badly out of date, very expensive to run and ill-suited to the needs of a modern media company. After considering various options, the Board of Directors of VRT decided in 2013 to remain at this unique location in Brussels and construct a new building on the site of the old one. VRT plans to assume its social responsibilities by financing the project itself, opting for a new sustainable building and ensuring a flexible and inspiring working environment for more than 2,000 employees. Moreover, VRT wants, together with the other partners, to open up the site to the public.

Between Flanders, Brussels and Europe, the Reyers site is the perfect place for the Flemish public broadcaster to fulfil its roles. VRT’s ambition is to become an open house in the bustling new district on Boulevard Reyers.