First Brussels House opened in Milan
A Brussels showcase to the world
A Brussels showcase to the world
Thursday evening, mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala and Brussels State Secretary Pascal Smet opened the very first Brussels House in Milan’s new Porta Nuova district. The Brussels House is a true showcase for our Region in this trending cultural and business district. It will be an open house, also providing space to Brussels and Belgian organisations and companies to organise events, and it will house the offices of the economic and tourism representatives of the Brussels Region in Milan. The Brussels Region aims to open Brussels Houses in other strategic cities as well. The second one will be opened in Barcelona in September this year.
The first Brussels House has been inaugurated in Milan on 2 February 2023. It provides space to highlight the Brussels Region as a tourist and economic destination and to promote Brussels entrepreneurs and the Brussels way of life in strategic cities. This is achieved, among others, through a permanent exhibition with creations Made in Brussels and several events in and around the Brussels House. Brussels is focusing on city marketing and aims to create a strong, coherent international image involving all internationally active Brussels actors, both public and private. The Brussels Houses will promote the image of the vibrant, enterprising, creative and international metropolis of Brussels. They are the result of a cooperation between visit.brussels, hub.brussels, Brussels International and commissioner.brussels. These houses are activated in close cooperation with public and private partners such as MAD Brussels and KANAL-Centre Pompidou.
“I am pleased with the opening of a multifunctional Milanese space, built with materials from the circular economy, that will bring together the Brussels economic and tourism sectors at the same place. By opting for common spaces, we will facilitate synergies and the Region will have more opportunities to consolidate its international growth and image. ” said Rudi Vervoort, Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region.
Brussels Minister responsible for the Image of Brussels Sven Gatz: “The creation of a Brussels House in Milan is part of our ambition to improve the international dimension of our capital with this opportunity to discover both cultural and entrepreneurial know-how. I am also very pleased that our Brussels administrations hub.brussels and visit.brussels can work together on all the added value that this new dynamic between Brussels and Milan will offer.”
Milan was not chosen by chance as the very first host city for a Brussels House. This North-Italian city is not only the capital of fashion, but also of design, architecture and Italian gastronomy. It is a strategic destination with many opportunities for Brussels entrepreneurs, designers and artisans with international ambitions. Milan is also an obvious choice for tourism development in the Belgian capital, with Italy being an important destination for Belgian tourism. Thanks to the Brussels House, the Brussels Capital Region has a major asset to meet the growing Italian interest.
The Brussels House is located on the ground floor of a building a the Porta Nuova district. This former industrial area has evolved into one of Milan’s hotspots. Both Milanese and visitors easily find their way to this new district in the northwest of the city, filled with innovative companies, cultural houses, shops, restaurants and architectural landmarks. An example of such a landmark is the Bosco Verticale of renowned architect Stefano Boeri. This iconic residential project integrated more than 20,000 trees and plants.
Quality, efficiency and synergy
Quality, efficiency and synergy are the keywords of the project, which is the result of an intense cooperation between the Brussels agency for promotion of tourism, visit.brussels, and the Brussels Agency for Business in Brussels and abroad, hub.brussels. Both institutions already had a representative and an office in the fashion capital. The Brussels House will provide 120 m² of space to cooperate even better in order to create an even stronger, more coordinated and more coherent Brussels international image. Since the Brussels House also hosts the offices of the representatives of visit.brussels and hub.brussels and provides spaces for many events that previously took place externally, operating costs will also be reduced.
International launch platform for Brussels designs and ideas
Isabelle Grippa, CEO of hub.brussels, welcomes this new and complementary service for Brussels companies abroad. “We want this Brussels enclave in Italy to become a real launch platform for our artisanal, cultural and creative companies. By working well together, we minimise operating costs. And both bureaucracy and risks for companies will be kept to a minimum."
“The opening of the Brussels House is an important step. Thanks to the acquired know-how, we can bring Brussels to life in Milan. We can illustrate what we really represent: a multipurpose, dynamic, cosmopolitan region dedicated to environmental and social sustainability. A region with a constantly evolving cultural and leisure offer and with a unique diversity of gathering places. ” said Patrick Bontinck, CEO of visit.brussels.
