KBC Tower | |
---|---|
Alternative names | Boerentoren Torengebouw |
General information | |
Status | Completed |
Type | Commercial offices |
Architectural style | Art Deco |
Location | Schoenmarkt 35 Antwerp, Belgium |
Coordinates | 51°13′07″N 4°24′15″E / 51.218611°N 4.404167°E |
Construction started | 1929 |
Completed | 1932 |
Height | |
Antenna spire | 112.5 m (369 ft) |
Roof | 95.8 m (314 ft) |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 26 |
Lifts/elevators | 15 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Emiel van Averbeke Jan R. Van Hoenacker and Jos Smolderen |
References | |
[1][2][3][4] |
The Boerentoren (English: "Farmer's Tower"; officially the KBC Tower, originally the Torengebouw van Antwerpen) is a historic high-rise building in Antwerp, Belgium. Constructed between 1929 and 1932 and originally 87.5 m (287 ft) high, it remained the tallest building and the second-tallest structure of any kind in the city (after the gothic Cathedral of Our Lady) until 2019, when the Antwerp Tower surpassed it with a height of 100.7 m (330 ft). At the time of construction, it was the second tallest building in Europe by roof height (after Telefónica Building).
Designed in the Art Deco style, the Boerentoren is one of Europe's very first tall buildings. The Boerentoren remained the tallest in Belgium until 1960, and is currently ranked 21st tallest in the country. In 1954, the tower was extended with an antenna which reached to a total height of 112.5 m (369 ft). In 1976, the roof of the tower was raised by 8.3 m (27 ft), and the current roof height is therefore 95.8 m (314 ft).[2] The building was designed by Jan Van Hoenacker.
In 2020, the company Katoen Natie acquired the tower with the intention of turning it into a cultural institution, while The Phoebus Foundation chancellery will be responsible for organizing permanent and temporary exhibitions with works from its collection, alongside public and private collaborations.[5][6]
Gallery
- The Torengebouw van Antwerpen in the 1930s
- Postcard of the Torengebouw, 1933
- Buzzbomb (V-1) damage to the Torengebouw during World War II
- Buzzbomb damage to the Torengebouw during World War II
- View of Boerentoren from base
- View of Boerentoren
References
- ↑ "Boerentoren". CTBUH Skyscraper Center.
- 1 2 "Emporis building ID 108999". Emporis. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016.
- ↑ "Boerentoren". SkyscraperPage.
- ↑ Boerentoren at Structurae
- ↑ "The 'Boerentoren'". The Phoebus Foundation (in Flemish). Retrieved 26 September 2022.
- ↑ "Antwerpse Boerentoren officieel in handen van Katoen Natie-topman Fernand Huts". De Standaard (in Flemish). 11 July 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
External links
Media related to Boerentoren (Antwerp) at Wikimedia Commons
- VRT News site
- Tower Building in Antwerp (in Dutch)
- "Boerentoren". Phorio.