This year, the inconspicuous office building near the Royal Flemish Theatre in the heart of Brussels was converted into a residential tower comprising studios and apartments. The brand-new project is called The Cosmopolitan. Bogdan & Van Broeck drew the plans.

Two worlds collide in the streets around the Royal Flemish Theatre (kvs). On the one hand, there are artists, actors and theatregoers, established architectural firms and start-ups. On the other hand, one finds drug users and dealers, prostitutes and pimps, petty vandals, and gangs of kids loitering around. The Alhambra Quarter has been struggling with this problem for several years now, which has migrated from the North Station and Place Rogier, and is shifting further towards the canal.