Designed in the mid-1960s by the renowned architects René Stapels and Pierre Dufau - and built between 1967 and 1970 - Royale Belge is a building characterised by a large two-storey podium and an iconic cross shape. A landmark in the architectural landscape of Brussels, both the 80,000 m2 building and the surrounding landscape received regional heritage protection in 2019. In the same year, after a brief period of neglect, the city of Brussels granted a consortium of investors permission to renovate and reorganise the building to incorporate a mix of uses, including conference facilities, offices, co-working spaces, a hotel, a spa and a restaurant. The architectural renovation involved a collaboration between Caruso St John of London, Bovenbouw Architectuur of Antwerp, DDS+ and MA2 of Brussels.

The key element of the project is undoubtedly the majestic glass façade, with a total area of 9,000 square metres. The company Polypane Glasindustrie - specialised in the supply/installation of glass products for both exterior and interior applications - chose AGC's Coating on Demand: a preference that respects the original design while aiming for a significant improvement in performance.

Coating on Demand is an innovative customised service that allows for the creation of customised coated glass. In fact, thanks to virtual prototyping software, AGC is able to simulate the design and tailor-make a real sample of the product.

Franky Symoens, Managing Director of Polypane, commented on the choice of Coating on Demand: 'We always strive to offer our customers the most suitable solutions for their needs. To this end, we work closely with different glass suppliers to offer those solutions. In this particular case, we found AGC's Coating on Demand service on the market, which quickly proved to be the best solution as it allowed us to achieve the same aesthetics as the original. Once we placed the Coating on Demand model next to the 1960s glass, they were incredibly identical."

In addition to the 9,000 square metres of glass for the facade cladding, 1,500 square metres of AGC ipasol Ultraselect 69/29 Oversize glass (1725 x 7432 mm) were installed for the base of the building - which required large floor-to-ceiling glass panels - with solar control coating. On the mezzanine floor, 2,000 m² of AGC ipasol Ultraselect 69/29 solar control glass was installed.

Renovations such as the one that characterised the Royal Belge present a high degree of complexity: some of the original elements have to be retained or replaced by similar, but higher-performance materials. A great effort is made to optimise the energy efficiency profile, for example by improving insulation, installing solar panels and so on. From a performance point of view, the replacement of the iconic gold coloured glass used in the façade alone generated a reduction in energy consumption of around 4%. Royale Belge presents itself as a carbon-neutral building, a candidate for BREEAM Excellent certification.