Granvelle acquired two existing hôtels particuliers there in 1549–50 and had them merged into one of the earliest and most beautiful manifestation of High Renaissance in the Southern Netherlands.

[6] The Granvelle Palace was directly inspired by the courtyard façades of the Palazzo Farnese, designed by Michelangelo and Vignola.

[7][3] During the trip to Rome that Van Noyen undertook around 1550, upon Granvelle's instigation, those façades were under construction, so he may have visited the building site.

[12] Between the street and gallery was a steeply sloping garden, with citrus and fig trees, aromatic herbs and four large fountains.

[12] In his palace, Granvelle amassed an impressive collection of sculptures, including an antique Venus and Cupid or Apollo.

[16] As the right-hand man of King Philip II of Spain, he had earned his way with the high nobility, and also with the regent Margaret of Parma.

The Free University had the façade renovated by the architects Henri Beyaert and Antoine Trappeniers [fr] (1863) and had new sculptures installed.