The British Embassy in Brussels is responsible for maintaining and developing the UK’s relationship with Belgium through political, commercial, and security cooperation, while also providing consular assistance to British nationals in the country.

It is easily accessible by local transport routes and handles a wide range of issues, including trade and investment, justice and home affairs, as well as managing services for British citizens, such as helping with lost passports and providing information for those living in Belgium.

Both the embassy and the UK Mission to the EU, reside at avenue d’Auderghem/Oudergemlaan in a grand 6-storey building with each floor housing a different department – Defence, Diplomatic Services, Visas and documentation etc.

Physical security working with existing architecture

Security for the building needed to work around the existing architecture, which has a central lift shaft to access all levels. Obviously, some departments needed to have robust security in place to protect certain offices from the general public, who in turn, needed easy access to the passport and visa services on other levels.

Each level of the building needed the ability to isolate individually, depending upon the exact threat or level of risk.

Determining the threat

The obvious security issue for this building was the risk of terrorists or those displaying threatening behaviour, being able to gain access to all levels of the Embassy via the lift.

Each floor of the building needed to have its own isolating measures in place.

The Obexion Solution

After careful research, the security advisor for the embassy found Charter Global and the Obexion range of LPS 1175 independently certified security shutters on the RedBookLive website.

This website only lists products that have passed the strict LPCB testing process and been awarded official certification.

Two Obexion UD C5 (SR3) shutters were ordered for phase one of works which took place in 2017. These were installed on levels 2 and 3 over the departmental entrance doors, so that if anyone exited the lift, they could not gain access to those departments without permission.

At a later stage, another four Obexion shutters were completed as phase two of the project, to protect the remaining floors.

They also have the added built-in security of LockDown Technology.  This means the shutter does not require any additional auxiliary locking. LockDown technology allows the security shutter to be used on first points of entry and ensures the C5 security shutter is never left in an insecure position through an incomplete locking procedure. Unlike most shutters, even if the shutter has not been fully deployed, it cannot be forced upwards to gain entry.

Obexion UD C5 (SR3) shutters are frequently used in high risk areas and are designed to resist attacks from a deliberate forced entry using bodily force and mechanically enhanced tools. (Category C tool sets from the LPS 1175 Issue 8 standard) and have been used in other embassies and ambassador residencies around the world.

Protecting diplomatic buildings with certified security.
The Obexion range delivers proven LPS 1175-certified protection for embassies, institutions, and critical infrastructure without compromising design. Contact us to find the right solution for your site.