Description:
Located in Leuven - the long-established centre of the Belgian brewing industry - De Hoorn is the birthplace of the famous Stella Artois beer. The original building is a real gem of industrial heritage. Designed in 1923 with great care and detail both inside and out, the structural design is truly exceptional and is a well-preserved example of a brewery of this type. In the 1970s and 1980s, when production of the beer moved to a location with more modern units, activity at De Hoorn came to a near standstill and in 1997 it was listed as a protected monument. Twenty years later, a group of local entrepreneurs from various cultural and creative organisations decided to buy and restore the building with guidance from the Flemish Agency for Monuments and Sites. The completed result is an exemplary restoration of a beautiful industrial monument, with clever additions to accommodate its new occupants. The renovated brewery is now home to the owners' organisations and represents their own ideals. They aim to provide "an innovative, open meeting place where creativity, cross-breeding and entrepreneurship are key". Aside from the office spaces, the building has event areas which are mainly in the historic brewing rooms and a Grand Café which is open to the public.