The National Bank of Belgium building on Rue Neuve features an imposing facade of columns and heavy stone, designed to convey absolute stability. Before this structure rose in the mid-nineteenth century, the bank operated out of the former Hotel de la Chasse Royale nearby. The directors wanted a new headquarters that looked like a fortress for the nation's gold. Architect Hendrik Beyaert delivered a design that successfully hid the bank's operational complexity behind a rigid, classical exterior that still commands the street today.
National Bank of Belgium
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