The Flemish Community Commission and the Flemish Government jointly invested in the renovation of the old ‘Monnaie House’ on the Place de la Monnaie in Brussels. The project has been christened the ‘Muntpunt’ (in Dutch) and involves building a Flemish Communications House in Brussels. Apart from a modern library there will also be a centre with a capital city image to provide information about and promote the local Dutch-language municipal services and facilities network, events and other city information. There are two Brussels partners, the Central Public Library, and Welcome and Promote Brussels. These are the two main building blocks of this centre.
The project is strategically located in the heart of Brussels. The building complex consists of four sections: - the ‘Monnaie House’ located at Muntplein 6 - the building situated at Schildknaapstraat 26, 1000 Brussels - the ‘Schildknaapgebouw’ located at Schildknaapstraat 28, 1000 Brussels - 15 parking spaces on long-term lease and 20 rented in the ‘Monnaie’ underground car park.
Furthermore, there is a subway running next to the building, and the ventilation shaft runs through the building. The implementation methods for the conversion were modified to deal with the close proximity of the subway. Muntpunt will become a magnificent multilingual information centre with a modern library, meeting rooms, a bar and a sitting area. This seven-storey building experienced a thorough facelift. The ground floor includes a smart open space and the large expanses of glass will let in a lot of light. STRABAG Belgium was responsible for the closed carcass and finishing works.
