After launching a public competition for the design of its new “icon” livery, Brussels Airlines received more than 900 submissions. After shortlisting all the proposals down to 15, the Belgian flag carrier once again asked for the public’s help to vote for their favourite.
Over 50,000 people voted and the top 5 was presented to an external jury, featuring Sandra Kim (Eurovision winner), Alex Callier (Hooverphonic), Philippe Geluck (Le Chat), Sandrine Corman (TV Host), Michèle George (paralympic athlete), Gabrielle Szwarcenberg (fashion designer), Elisia Poelman (painter), Griet Aesaert (designer), alongside Brussels Airlines CEO Dorothea von Boxberg and Michel Moriaux, Head of Marketing. The jury then chose the winning design.
The new special livery to join a series that includes homages to famous comic strip detective Tintin, the Tomorrowland music festival and the national football teams Red Devils and Red Flames, will feature the Atomium. The winning design was submitted by Thomas Faes (44), an architect living in Brabant-Wallon’s Orp-Jauche, who wanted to honour the emblem of Belgian architecture.
A few hours before the project submission deadline, I decided to completely rework my proposal. I wanted the design to be truly universal.
Thomas Faes
“For me, the Atomium is the symbol representing Belgium. I have childhood memories of it, when on a school trip, I found myself in awe at the foot of this iconic monument. The brightness and mirror effect of the spheres allow everyone to see something different in it. As an architect, I tried to translate what I perceived with the naked eye into a more technical drawing. I am so proud that my Atomium project will soon take to the skies as part of the Brussels Airlines fleet”, Faes said.
The Atomium symbolizes an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. It was designed and built for the Brussels World’s Fair (1958), for which it was the flagship building and emblem. Like most Expo Fair landmarks, it was supposed to be taken down at the end of the exhibition, but it proved so popular that it remained open and now welcomes more than 800,000 visitors per year.
“The Atomium is already visible in our uniforms, and our logo with nine dots is a nod to this iconic landmark. Making the Atomium the next Belgian Icon therefore feels like an excellent choice”, said von Boxberg.
The airline will now work with Faes to transform his design into a technical drawing that can be painted on an aircraft, as well as create a matching design for the interior of the plane. The result will be presented to the public in Spring 2025.
