Designed by renown architect Dame Zaha Hadid, the Havenhuis is the head office of the Antwerp Port Authority and the city’s newest landmark. Comprising the culturally significant old fire station at its base with a new, streamlined glass building resting on top, the Havenhuis is an architectural work of art befitting the city to which it belongs.

The old fire station is a replica of what was once a house belonging to the Hanseatic League, an organisation of German towns and merchant communities formed to protect their trading interests. Due to its historical significance, the fire station had to be integrated into the new design, resulting in the ship-like structure formed by the marriage of the new and old buildings. The new Havenhuis seems to be a metaphor for modern-day Antwerp: forward-looking and innovative, represented by the glass structure that seems to lean enthusiastically towards the future, but just as the glass building is held in place by the fire station, so too is Antwerp still rooted firmly in history.