Towers are a source of fascination and turmoil. They are often experienced as sublime, sometimes as shocking. Towers are also dominant, a feature of a place that is visible from afar. They give it a distinct identity. But towers are not just image-defining. They also function as landmarks and indicators of time, they often have a symbolic meaning and they visualize economic, social and technical developments.
"The term ‘tower’ has many connotations. Church tower, television tower, residential or office tower … The range is wide. Today towers are more and more the symbol of high-rise buildings."‐ Dirk Laureys, collection manager
Anoymous design for a lighthouse, early 19th century
Emiel Van Averbeke, ancien régime house tower in Antwerp, undated design
Jos Smolderen, the Boerentoren in Antwerp, 1928
Jan Vanhoenacker and Albert Dankelman, the Botanique Palace in Brussels, 1934
René Vansteenbergen, student design for a restaurant, c. 1933
Joseph-Louis Stynen, competition design for a hotel in Africa, 1933
Lou Jansen, student design botanical garden Meise, 1960
Henry Van de Velde, Léon Stynen and Victor Bourgeois, Belgian Pavilion for the New York World's Fair of 1939
Gustave Magnel and Léon Stynen, Tower of Teleconnections for the Brussel World's Fair of 1958, c. 1955
Léon Stynen, Paul De Meyer and Joseph Reusens, BP Buiding in Antwerp, c. 1963
Renaat Braem, Jul De Roover and Maxime Wijnants, the Police Tower in Antwerp, 1960sWould you like to consult an archive?
Monday to Friday: from 9am to 5pm
Preferably by appointment
Weekends and Holidays: Closed
Closed: 25.12.2023-31.12.2023
The archive can be visited in groups. Requests for this need to be made at least 3 weeks in advance via architectuurarchief@vai.be.
Search and find archives within and outside the VAi Collection on the VAi Archive Hub
Browse through more than 10,000 books in our richly stocked library