When heritage meets high-tech in Antwerp’s City Hall

Antwerp turned to Axians to maintain parts of the building’s infrastructure. Axians’ expertise in audiovisual integration, IT, and security positioned it to address the council’s specific requirements.

Working in a listed building meant every technical upgrade had to respect strict architectural rules and blend into the historic furniture. At the same time, the council required a secure integration with its IT platforms to manage agendas, voting, and meeting preparation. An existing voting system from another vendor also had to be incorporated into the new environment. All of this had to be achieved without disrupting the council’s vital monthly meetings.

Axians designed and delivered a complete solution for the council chamber:

• Conferencing system with individual microphones, headsets, and audio distribution across the building.
• Intelligent camera system that automatically follows speakers, enabling high-quality recording and live streaming of public sessions.
• Meeting control software integrated with the city’s existing platforms for agenda management and voting.
• Audiovisual backbone supporting presentations, video conferencing, and content distribution to multiple rooms, including commission rooms and public spaces.

By combining in-house audiovisual expertise with IT and security specialists from other Axians business units, the team ensured the solution met the highest standards of performance, reliability, and data protection.

Today, council meetings are easier to manage, more transparent, and accessible to all citizens. Sessions are streamed live online, journalists and visitors can follow proceedings from elsewhere in the building, and delegates benefit from a seamless, modern conferencing experience. Importantly, all this has been achieved while preserving the heritage and character of the City Hall.