Palais du Centenaire
Address Place de Belgique
City/Neighborhood Brussels
Style(s)
- Art Deco
Original use
- Exhibition hall
Year 1930
Architect(s) and/or artist(s)
- Van Neck Joseph
Palais 5, also called “Palais du Centenaire”, is a monumental exhibition hall erected on the occasion of the 1935 Universal Exhibition on the current Heysel Plateau, by main architect Joseph Van Neck and engineer Louis Baes, in the Art Deco style in vogue at the time.
In 1935, the building presented the largest reinforced concrete frame in the world and the largest covered space in Belgium.
Its monumental facade is surmounted by statues of classical style made by various Belgian artists under the direction of Egide Rombaux.
Palais 5 is surrounded by other buildings from the same period, and also more recent ones. These form the Exhibition Center where major international events, trade shows, fairs, exhibitions take place.
During the Universal Exhibition of Brussels in 1958, the facade of Palais 5 was covered with a triangular structure decorated with 90 stars (symbol of Expo 58 designed by Lucien De Roeck) with in the center a huge copper dove, flanked of a big star. This set was the work of architect Jacques Dupuis.
BRU18 - Unless otherwise stated © www.admirable-facades.brussels for all photos