A huge concrete building in the middle of the country, surrounded by the slag heaps. Its construction was finished in 1954 with the help of the "generous" Marshall funds. Money that could have been used for something else, because the building was left in... 1959! Coal from the surrounding mines was sorted and washed here.
Building is completely empty, only holes on the floor reminds the huge machines that used to stand there.
In the middle of the former industrial Belgium will be born among others: a professional center of artistic training, a store of the kingdom archives, and the collection of the Belgian geological core samples!
The cleaning up of this huge industrial waste land will still take a loooong time and cost something like 8 millions euro. Rescuing the local cultural industrial inheritance does not have a price...
This urban exploration is a real challenge for photography, because of the high contrasts and the back lightings everywhere. But this complex architecture is a real pleasure to explore...
Been there on 4th July 2012 and the building looked completely renovated and painted in white
Visited this 2 days ago, is still there. The facades have been repainted and have new glass so it has less of an old look. You can very easily get in past the front fence. Once inside the main floor a door is unlocked that leads to a staircase which brings you inside the building. The interoir still looks worn and beautiful, it's an absolute maze! Beautiful Be careful if you take any doors out once up, we locked ourselves out and had to do some nasty climbing to leave the building without broken bones.
This is a nice one too. I would buy it (with enough money and permission) and make a nice exposition-hall of it. The side of the building with the "thousand-and-one" windows, is just the best of all. When you put some new glass in it and keep it clean it will be demolishing for your eyes because of the beauty it has. Really, think of it and you'll see! We salute thou, King Stijn I
1998-2018 (c) - www.Forbidden-Places.net - Contact
[fr] 
[es]
