Belgian project developer ION wins international property award in Cannes
14/03/2025
Two other Belgian entries received honourable mentions in the MIPIM Awards final
The coveted MIPIM Awards, the international real estate Oscars if you will, were presented this evening in the French seaside resort of Cannes. Belgian project developer ION won in the category of ‘Best New Development’ with the Amsterdam project ‘The Hive’, which it is realising in collaboration with the Dutch company Green Real Estate. The MIPIM jury nominated a Belgian entry in two other categories. They each received an honourable mention.
In the summer of 2022, ION and Green Real Estate won the tender to give the former Calvin College in Amsterdam Nieuw-West a sustainable new future. The Belgian-Dutch alliance will start work on ‘The Hive’ in a few weeks' time. It is a so-called mixed project with a total of 183 apartments, a health centre, a community centre and a cultural incubator where artists can live and work. The old, monumental school building will be given a new function and expanded with an energy-positive new building. The eye-catcher of the project is an inner-city forest garden.
Earlier this year, ‘The Hive’ was nominated for the MIPIM Awards. In the ‘Best New Development’ category, the Belgian-Dutch collaboration had to compete against the Lithuanian National Concert Hall in Vilnius, the German Doxs Nkln in Berlin and the Turkish Beytepe Equestrian Sports Complex in Ankara. ‘The Hive’ ultimately came out on top and was praised by the jury as a project that not only stands out for its energy-positive design (A++++), but also for its unique inner-city forest and innovative mix of housing, healthcare and culture. ‘The Hive’ was cited as an example of sustainable urban development in which heritage, ecology and modern living go hand in hand.
This evening, CEOs Davy Demuynck and Kristof Vanfleteren were presented with a trophy by the jury. They accepted it together with their colleagues from OZ Architect.
ION CEOs Kristof Vanfleteren and Davy Demuynck with the trophy on the famous steps of the Palais des Festivals et de Congrès in Cannes.
For ION, it was the second time in two years that it had reached the final. We are extremely proud that our work has also been awarded the top prize this year. A success that we can share with our Dutch partner Green Real Estate (Zeeman family) and OZ Architect, with whom we enjoy working incredibly hard. Our congratulations also go out to everyone who has worked so hard on this unique project in Amsterdam. We can rely on a top team. We would also like to congratulate the three other finalists. They also presented strong projects that deserve a lot of attention.
Strong Belgian projects
Over the past few weeks, the MIPIM jury examined no fewer than 200 projects from 36 different countries. After a thorough assessment, four finalists were selected in each of ten different categories. The jury also selected a Belgian finalist in at least two other categories - ‘Best Conversion’ and ‘Best Cultural, Sports and Educational Project’ - ‘Polytoren’ in Zwijnaarde and ‘Egied van Broeckhovenschool’ in Brussels respectively. They each received an honourable mention.
We would like to congratulate our Belgian colleagues and architects on their places of honour. It is not self-evident that a Belgian development makes the shortlist for international prizes such as the MIPIM Awards. It shows above all that there is a great deal of know-how to be found in the Belgian real estate sector. Together we are able to continue pushing the boundaries of innovation and build the cities of tomorrow.
Both the ION and Green Real Estate offices are celebrating the victory of ‘The Hive’ in fitting fashion on Friday. With a drink and a real Dutch treacle waffle, of course.
