Centre Monnaie - Muntcentrum, International Style office building in Pentagon district, Brussels, Belgium.
Centre Monnaie is an International Style building in Brussels' Pentagon district with a distinctive cross-shaped form that rises above a shopping center. The structure combines office space with mixed-use areas and creates an integrated urban space in the city center.
Built between 1968 and 1971 to designs by André and Jean Polak, Jacques Cuisinier, Jean Gilson and Robert Schuiten, the Centre Monnaie replaced the 19th-century Hôtel des Postes et Télégraphes. Developed by Charly De Pauw, the 63-metre tower served as the headquarters of bpost until 2021 and also housed City of Brussels administrative services. In January 2019 the city and bpost sold it to Whitewood for over 80 million euros; renovation by Snøhetta and Binst Architects, renaming it OXY, began in 2020.
The name comes from the Place de la Monnaie and the neighbouring opera house, the Théâtre royal de la Monnaie. The shopping gallery inside links the Rue Neuve and the Rue des Fripiers, two of Brussels' main shopping streets, and one entrance of the De Brouckère metro station opens into the complex.
The complex occupies the block between Anspachlaan, Wolvengracht, Muntplein and Bisschopstraat, and one entrance of De Brouckère metro station sits inside it. The shopping gallery links Nieuwstraat and Kleerkopersstraat, two main shopping streets, so it works as a covered through-route. Four underground parking levels serve the building.
The building's plan is shaped like an X on polygonal foundations, and its 63-metre height made it a symbol of the 1960s-70s "bruxellisation" of Brussels. In January 2019 the City of Brussels and bpost sold it to the Antwerp property group Whitewood for over 80 million euros, a deal covering 75,500 m², of which 55,000 m² was office space.
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