Introduction

Looking to the future

That 2020 did not go as expected is no exaggeration. Nevertheless, ION's growth curve continues to be on the rise. We still have plenty of new projects in the pipeline.

'The only way is up.

Nobody could have predicted what has happened since ICONIC’s last edition, which appeared at the end of 2019. These have been – and still are – challenging times. But at ION, we won't lose heart and will deal with it in our own ambitious way. We have set up a safe workplace where we can continue to work and grow in different areas.

Because despite everything that’s happening, ION will continue to grow. In 2020, we welcomed more than twenty new staff, which means that we now have nearly a hundred employees. And it’s not just the staff numbers that are growing. We will also keep taking steps in our three main areas, namely sustainability, architecture, and innovation.

— Nature, Design & the Future In 2015, ION was Belgium’s first real estate developer with carbon-neutral certification. In the past five years, we have been doing everything we can for the climate. We have been minimizing our emissions and offsetting whatever remains by supporting climate projects in Africa. This is how we managed to avoid producing 220 tons of carbon-emissions this year.

In the area of architecture, we have been pulling out all the stops with the prestigious Panquin project. This is a new construction and renovation project at the edge of Tervuren Park. We are restoring the historic 18th -century horseshoe complex and constructing luxury apartments right beside it. You can read more about it and learn about its exclusive environment further on in this magazine. As far as innovation is concerned, we co-launched a new initiative right in the middle of the corona crisis. We will introduce you to AMAVI Capital in an interview with Arne Allewaert and Frederic Van den Weghe. This is a new property technology investment fund in which ION is one of the investors. We recognize that the real estate sector needs to be digitized and we want to be among the first to respond to the market trends.

As you can expect from us, we also want to inspire you with this magazine. We take a look at how our country’s railway station neighborhoods are being upgraded. We have responded to this trend with projects such as Roelevard in Roeselare, Niefhout in Turnhout, and Vivesto and HaZee in Ostend. We also talked to Xavier Hufkens, a gallery-owner and art lover in Brussels. Finally, we visited two very different architectural gems in Mexico and China. You can discover them for yourself in this magazine.

And what about the future? Our CEO Davy had a very interesting conversation about this with Filip Dewaele, CEO of Dewaele Vastgroedgroep, and Véronique Goossens, Chief Economist at Belfius Bank. What is the impact of COVID-19 on real estate prices? And on the types of homes? You can discover their visions in this new edition of ICONIC.

We hope that this magazine will stimulate you to keep up the good work.

Davy Demuynck en Kristof Vanfleteren

CEO and co-founders

Paul Thiers

Chairman en co-founder

From left to right: Kristof Vanfleteren (CEO and co-founder), Paul Thiers (Chairman and co-founder) and Davy Demuynck (CEO and co-founder).