2023-10-25 14:39:18
A procedure to preserve the Palais du Midi was launched on Wednesday by the Urban Research and Action Workshop, ARAU, with Europa Nostra Belgium, the Belgian branch of the pan-European federation which aims to protect heritage cultural and urban across Europe.
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This one-hectare building dating from the 1870s, and located in the heart of the Belgian capital, is among Brussels’ architectural heritage, without being protected. In order to accommodate the construction work of the future metro 3, the interior of the Palace risks being dismantled, while only the facades of the building would be preserved.
To “continue to put pressure on the public authorities” and “demonstrate the heritage and social value of the Palais du Midi”, the ARAU submitted an application to the annual program of “7 most endangered monuments” (“7 Most in danger” endangered sites programme”), led by the European federation of cultural heritage Europa Nostra.
“This program of ‘7 most endangered monuments’ makes it possible to give European visibility to local issues, such as the Palais du Midi here. As the Belgian branch of Europa Nostra, we enthusiastically support ARAU’s request, and hope to be able to trigger significant leverage in the public debate surrounding this case,” said Europa Nostra Belgium secretary Marie -Sophie de Clippele.
The jury for this annual program (made up of architects, archaeologists, experts in finance and even urban planning) will make its decision in spring 2024. Non-binding from a legal point of view, their opinion could however provide new insights and expertise on the dismantling project of the Palais du Midi.
“With the submission of this application, we are highlighting the heritage value of the Palais du Midi, the same one which has benefited from numerous public investments in recent decades. But beyond the architectural issue, it is also demonstrable that if it happens, the demolition of the halls and the sports complex which makes up the building will have a considerably harmful impact on the social life of the district,” insisted Wednesday the president of ARAU Marion Alecian.
The association also deplores “a flagrant lack of transparency” on the part of the public authorities towards the residents of the neighborhood and the associations involved. “There is a real democratic decline in the debate surrounding urban questions as essential as the question of the Palais du Midi,” added Marion Alecian.
Last September, the Brussels parliament gave the green light for an accelerated procedure for issuing permits for the partial dismantling of the Palais du Midi, in the context of the metro 3 project, which will connect Albert station to Gare du Nord, and later, in Bordet.
By participating in the Europa Nostra program, the defenders of the Palais du Midi in Brussels are trying to find another way to prevent the partial dismantling of the heritage property.
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