© Filip Dujardin © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
The Abattoirs d’Anderlecht is one of the few inner-city abattoirs in Europe to have remained in operation to the present day. The 11 hectare site on the Brussels-Charleroi Canal is only about one and a half kilometres from Bruxelles-Midi railway station. The core area is a market hall under a preservation order, which is adjoined to the west and south by the present day slaughterhouse buildings. They are surrounded by simple residential districts that are home to many people with a migration background.
As well as the business of animal slaughtering, for quite some time food has also been sold in the abattoirs. Brussels’ largest weekly market is held here at weekends. The former ice-cellar of the abattoir is used today as an events location. For a long time a suitable framework for the multiple uses was lacking. From 2009 to 2013 the architecture office ORG (Organization for Permanent Modernity) together with the private abattoir operator developed a new master plan for this quite densely built-up area. The first building block in this plan has now been completed, the meat and vegetable market on the eastern edge of the site. The 21,000 m2 new building forms an “L” around the existing fish market hall. It provides space for the sales stands, workshops, storage areas and refrigeration cells for about 50 traders, a third of whom are butchers.
As well as the business of animal slaughtering, for quite some time food has also been sold in the abattoirs. Brussels’ largest weekly market is held here at weekends. The former ice-cellar of the abattoir is used today as an events location. For a long time a suitable framework for the multiple uses was lacking. From 2009 to 2013 the architecture office ORG (Organization for Permanent Modernity) together with the private abattoir operator developed a new master plan for this quite densely built-up area. The first building block in this plan has now been completed, the meat and vegetable market on the eastern edge of the site. The 21,000 m2 new building forms an “L” around the existing fish market hall. It provides space for the sales stands, workshops, storage areas and refrigeration cells for about 50 traders, a third of whom are butchers.