The Brussels-Capital Region has classified the Anneessens-Funck Institute in the city centre as a site of cultural heritage.
Formerly a paper mill, the Art-Deco building now houses a school. It has obtained heritage status thanks to its historic, artistic, aesthetic and urban significance, says State Secretary for Heritage and Urban Planning Ans Persoons (Vooruit).
Located at the intersection of Rue de la Grande Île and Rue des Six Jetons, the institute's imposing gateway is a stand-out characteristic of the Fontainas district.
The City of Brussels, which owns the building, submitted a request for heritage classification for certain sections of the building in February 2023. The Royal Commission for Monuments and Sites supported the proposal, which authorities have just approved.
Credit: X
Several sections of the institute are now officially considered part of the city's cultural heritage. This includes the street side façades, the entrance hall, a section of shop windows, the stairwells, several bathroom facilities, the cloakroom, and the entire ground floor of a building designed by architect Eugène Dhuicque.
Past and future
"I am impressed by the entrance hall and its grandeur every time," Persoons wrote on social media when announcing the institute's new status. "It is quite challenging to run a modern-day school at a Brussels heritage site, but at the same time it is essential so that the building can live on into the future."
Prior to serving as a school, the building was home to the Corneille De Ruysscher paper mill, which commissioned workshops based on architect Ernest Acker's designs there in 1905. As the business grew, the site expanded, with Dhuicque adding new buildings between 1924 and 1927.
By 1949, the site had expanded all the way down to number 35 on Rue de la Grande Île, but this part of the project does not qualify for monument status.
