Fifty years ago, the first WTC Tower was inaugurated in the Northern Quarter. The original idea for the Manhattan Project involved 54 towers over an area of only 53 hectares! It would never fully see the light of day, but it radically changed the dynamics of the neighbourhood,
with office buildings of all kinds springing up around Bruxelles-Nord/Brussel-Noord railway station and Boulevard du Roi Albert II/Koning Albert II-laan. The infrastructure’s aesthetic was focused solely on its economic purpose, hence the term ‘functionalist architecture’. Sometimes this is punctuated by artworks. For the past 10 years or so, public and private players have been keen to revive the neighbourhood and ensure that offices and residents can coexist. At the end, your guide, who is one of these residents, will invite you to join them for tea or coffee/tea at their home. From the balcony of their 11th-floor apartment you will get a bird’s-eye view of past, present and future developments in the area.