Flagey Building — Brussels' Art Deco Aircraft Carrier

Completed in 1938 at Place Flagey 18 in the Ixelles commune of Brussels, the Flagey Building was designed by architect Joseph Diongré as the purpose-built headquarters of the Institut National de Radiodiffusion (INR), Belgium's national broadcasting institution. Diongré worked in the Streamline Moderne idiom — a late, aerodynamic branch of Art Deco that borrowed its visual language from ocean liners and aircraft. The result is a sweeping horizontal mass of pale stone and glass-brick, its curved prow jutting toward the square like the bow of a ship at anchor, earning the building its enduring popular nickname: het vliegdekschip / le porte-avions — "the aircraft carrier." Construction began in 1935, and the three-year build produced one of the most ambitious broadcasting complexes in interwar Europe, housing multiple acoustically engineered recording studios alongside administrative offices and technical facilities.

The INR broadcast from Place Flagey through the turbulent decades of the Second World War and Belgium's postwar reconstruction, making the building a literal transmitter of national memory. By the 1990s, however, the broadcaster had long since migrated to newer premises, and the structure had fallen into severe disrepair. A major campaign to save and restore it gathered momentum in the late 1990s, supported by the local Ixelles municipality and heritage bodies. A meticulous restoration — preserving Diongré's original terrazzo floors, curved staircases, and period detailing — was completed in 2002, when the building reopened as Flagey, a multidisciplinary cultural centre. The acoustically superlative Studio 4, with its warm wood panelling and raked seating for around 800, became one of the most sought-after concert halls in Brussels, regularly hosting the Belgian National Orchestra and the Klarafestival.

Today, Flagey operates as a year-round venue combining classical concerts, jazz, world music, arthouse cinema across two screening rooms, and international festivals. The building sits at the edge of the twin Ixelles ponds (Étangs d'Ixelles), and its forecourt on Place Flagey doubles as an open-air market on weekend mornings — one of Brussels' liveliest neighbourhood markets with over 200 stalls. The contrast between the streamlined 1930s facade and the vibrant contemporary scene in front of it encapsulates Ixelles' character as the city's most culturally layered neighbourhood.

Visitors can enter freely to explore the ground-floor café, browse the programme boards, and admire the restored interior details during opening hours. Attending a concert in Studio 4 is the single best way to experience the building's spatial and acoustic intelligence — tickets frequently sell out, so booking in advance through flagey.be is strongly recommended. The building is a short walk from the Porte de Namur metro station (lines 2 and 6), and the Ixelles ponds provide a scenic approach on foot from the Avenue de la Toison d'Or.