Den Bell, Public office complex in Antwerp, Belgium

Den Bell is a modernist office complex on Francis Wellesplein in Antwerp. Its 58-metre tower, built around 1953 by Hugo Van Kuyck, has fourteen storeys and is flanked by two symmetrical six-storey wings. The reinforced-concrete facades are clad in white hardstone, with a blue hardstone base and a bronze-clad entrance canopy.

The building started as a factory for the Bell Telephone Manufacturing Company, which opened its first foreign branch here in 1882. A notable architect designed the original complex in the late 1800s, before it was later transformed into an administrative center.

The name Den Bell echoes the Bell Telephone Manufacturing Company, which opened its first foreign branch in Antwerp in 1882; locals pronounce it in their own way. Since 2010 the building has housed the city's administrative services, and around 2,500 employees work here. In the central entrance hall, a chequerboard pattern is a detail to look for.

Den Bell is an administrative building, not intended for direct service to residents or firms, so visitors cannot tour the offices. The monumental staircase and the chequered pattern in the central entrance hall are visible from the entrance area. The building lies on Francis Wellesplein in Antwerp-Zuid, reachable by public transport.

The tower's rear facade is marked by a round stairwell that runs the full height, lit by a tower-high semicircular glass wall. To keep this monumental stair during the renovation, the city obtained a fire-safety exemption from the fire brigade. The central entrance hall also keeps its chequerboard floor pattern.