South Tower, Modern skyscraper in Saint-Gilles, Belgium.
The South Tower (Tour du Midi/Zuidertoren) is a 38-storey, 150-metre office skyscraper beside Brussels-South railway station in Saint-Gilles. Its facade is a grid of blue-grey glass panels divided by thin dark mullions, with pairs of lighter frosted panels near the top and halfway down, and a darker recessed section with lit windows near the bottom left. Each floor hangs from a central core on 144 prestressed beams, 40 metres long and 40 tonnes each, so no columns interrupt the office space.
Construction began in 1962 and finished in 1967, making it the tallest structure in the European Economic Community at that time. Other buildings in Europe surpassed it in height within five years of completion.
The tower is nicknamed the Pensions Tower because it was built for the national pension fund and still houses the Belgian Federal Pensions Service. Its name comes from Brussels-South railway station next to it. The 1971 RTBF television film Les fonctionnaires, by Jean-Jacques Péché and Pierre Manuel, was filmed here.
The building sits close to Brussels-South railway station, making it simple to reach by public transportation. Inside, 11 elevators help visitors and workers move efficiently between the many floors.
Between 1995 and 1996, the building underwent a major exterior overhaul where workers replaced the entire facade with new glass panels. This renovation gave the tower a fresh appearance and improved its energy efficiency and structural performance.
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