Silversquare opens new co-working location in central Brussels

Silversquare Central, a new spot developed by co-working pioneer Silversquare, is being opened today. For the interior, Silversquare teamed up with MANIERA, an internationally acclaimed and Belgian company, who employed an army of internationally renowned designers, artists and architects to transform the former Shell headquarters into 5,712 square metres of enchantment. Located right opposite Brussels Central station, SQ Central will be a hot spot for working, co-creation, brainstorming and relaxation. It has room for as many as 650 entrepreneurs.

Central stripped

The magnificent art deco and early-modernistic building in question was designed by the Brussels architects Alexis Dumont and Marcel Van Goethem, also famous for the former Citroën garage beside the Brussels canal. Two floors were stripped, giving the various artists and architects carte blanche to perform their magic.

“In doing so, we have certainly retained the magnificent old elements, such as travertine floors and circular walls. Together with architects Doorzon from Ghent and Italian-Belgian Piovenefabi, we have achieved something truly enchanting. The result? Call it a warm shock, with sculptural furniture, colour, plenty of light, glass, metal, concrete panels, geometric shapes, not to mention comfort”, says Amaryllis Jacobs, co-founder of MANIERA.

International design with Belgian input

Over the years, MANIERA has (literally) built an enormous network of creative minds from all corners of the globe. That was quite clear in the selection for Silversquare Central. It was an incredibly difficult task – amidst the corona period – to coordinate handfuls of people and firms without compromising on the artistic freedom of each designer.

“We managed to gather a special team: fabric designer Christoph Hefti, who took care of the textiles, the artists Stéphane Barbier Bouvet and Richard Venlet for the furniture, renowned architects Jo Tailleu and Jan De Vylder / Inge Vinck, together with the young and high-flying architecture studios Studio Verter, Felt, Maxime Prananto, and not forgetting Doorzon and Piovenefabi of course”, says Kwinten Lavigne, co-founder of MANIERA. “It’s a fantastic international team with plenty of Belgian input, which we are very proud of”, adds Amaryllis Jacobs.

Alexandre Ponchon and Axel Kuborn, founders of Silversquare, are delighted: “The result is an architectural gem in which creativity will be stimulated to its full potential. Meetings are encouraged in every one of our spaces, for example, in Silversquare Central it’s possible to meet on the panoramic roof with an amazing view of Brussels. Fabulous! The location too, close to central station, makes SQ Central the ideal spot for entrepreneurs. So far, CO2 Logic, Human37, Traject, Bofidi, Ticketmaster and Fintech Belgium have already signed up.”

Continuing its expansion across Belgium

Silversquare does not sit still and will be opening a location in Bruxelles-Nord at the end of this year. After that, Silversquare will be settling into spots in Louvain-La-Neuve, Liege and Antwerp. So there is plenty of (co-)work ahead, and one important driver: for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs. And, on each occasion, the interior is shaped by the hands of famous artists.