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Click here for The Bayt al-Andalus renovation project (picture gallery)
Click here for The Bayt a-Andalus activity program (program details & subscription forms)
Building bridges beyond borders
In May 2005, shortly after our return to Belgium from a full winter in Oman and the Emirates, we acquired a remarkable house in Berchem (Antwerp) which has been our headquarters since September 2005.
From the street, the house might provide a somewhat dreary appearance, but at the inside it contains all the more treasures. Built in 1909 by architects Lenaerts and De Meyer, in 1920 the original owner Leonard Buerbaum commissioned the orientalists Dieltiens and Huygh to construct two consecutive moorish parlours at the backside, complete with Grenada-style arches, stucco adornments with arabic kufi inscriptions, and lavishly adorned woodwork and wall-paintings. Meanwhile the garden was turned into a moorish atrium, with tilings, fountains and a pillared verandah reminiscent of the famous Lion's Patio at Grenada.
Further details of the house's history (and some very nice pictures) can be found in Vreemd Gebouwd, a history of 5 centuries of foreign influence in Belgian architecture compiled by Stefaan Grieten (Antwerpen 2002).
Bayt al-Andalus (The Andalusian Mansion) is now our venue. We are steadily restoring it to its original splendour. It holds a reference library of some 20,000 books on business practices, training and educational issues, and Asian, Middle Eastern and Cross-Cultural studies.
Since 2006 the Moorish parlours having been housing a varied set of activities: lectures, films, debates, concerts and receptions. Program details can be taken from this website.
Furthermore, rooms and parlours, and even the garden, are for rent for external users: All the necessary facilities (flipchart, whiteboards, beamer, projection screen, ...) for a successful off-site meeting or training are available, and catering can be provided at wish.
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