Turn and Taxis

Turn and Taxis is old and vast industrial site of Brussels closed down, in the course of restoration). It is located along the channel of Brussels, at a few minutes hardly of the center of the capital, with Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and comprises several large buildings and warehouses made of bricks, glass and wrought iron, examples of value of the industrial architecture. The place offers in particular to the Festival Color Coffee the possibility of extension necessary as well as an exceptional decoration.

History

The site of Turn & Taxis played a big role in the economic development of Brussels.

At the origin, the grounds belonged to the Austrian family of the von Thurn und Taxis which had used this ground as a pasture for her post horses. Indeed, the imperial Poste of Thurn und Taxis had been organized starting from Brussels during two centuries and had moved towards Francfort-sur-le-Main only in 1724. The name of Thurn und Taxis , francized in Turn & Taxis , indicated the place consequently then the complex of buildings which were going to be built there.

At the end of the 19th century, Belgium is the 5th economic power of Europe. An direct access with the sea thanks to the channel of Willebroeck, as well as the strong increase in the commercial exchanges, block the inner harbor of Brussels. The city and the department of the railroads are interested since 1873 in the semi-marshy site which borders the Port of Brussels on Right Bank of the channel of Willebroeck, in a few hundreds of meters of the point where this one joined the channel of Charleroi. A first public warehouse had been built at this place in 1851. A private association, the “ Circle of the Maritime Installations of Brussels ”, is created in 1881 in order to promote the creation of the new port. The “ Public limit company of the Maritime Channel and the Installations of Brussels ” is created in 1896 and the city buys for the equivalent of 50 million euros the site of Turn and Taxis.

The site is ideal for the developments considered: near to the center of the city, little urbanized, near the old port, of the station of the Green Alley (first station of Belgium in 1835 on the line Brussels - Malignant), of the channels of Charleroi and Willebroek, of the boulevards of the city and new the Boulevard Léopold II.

A series of imposing buildings, whose Royal Warehouse and its dependences - the special Warehouse, the hangar of transshipment, the hangar of the hazardous substances and the Hotel of the customs - will be built between 1904 and 1907 on the basis of plan of the architect Ernest Van Humbeek. The warehouse was intended for the storage of the goods under the control of the Belgian customs administration. The building is characterized by imposing frontages, covered bricks and blue stone. The thickness of the walls and the quality of the cellars allowed a storage of quality of the products.

In same time, SNCB builds a new goods station on the site, with more close to the future harbor installation. The harbor station set up between 1902 and 1910 occupies 4 hectares and the establishment of the railways and the buildings makes it possible to charge and discharge several trains at the same time.

Since 1911, the whole of the economic life of Brussels related on the transport and the storage of the goods moves towards the site. Turn and Taxis are indeed what one would call today a multimode platform, since are associated, for the first time of the history on the same site of 37 hectares, the functions of perception of the customs, storage of goods and of transport, by rail, sees water and road.

This dynamics confers a new impulse on the close districts such as Laeken and Molenbeek, and transforms Right Bank of the channel into a true economic and industrial zone. The site is supplemented, in 1922, by a new warehouse made up of a Grande Halle and cellars. This same year, the new port is inaugurated, work having taken delay because of First World War.

Nearly 3.000 people worked on the site where some 1.400 coaches passed by day in the station, which was one of most important country, while the capacity of storage will reach 240.000m ² when a center of freight for the rail and road traffic settles there in 1958.

However, with the progressive lifting of the European tariff barriers, the raison d'être of the deposit of the customs disappeared little by little, while the development of road transport put at evil the maritime activity and railway. The last institution which occupied the site, the Post office, left it in 1987, to leave it completely unused.

Difficult reassignment

Since 1987, the site was classified in the plan of sector “ zone of equipment of collective interest or public service ”. Since then, of committees of dialog in public surveys, the projects are succédé, while the site was primarily used to accommodate cultural activities.

Ultimately, the Project T&T SA , presented by the Asbl the Foundry and the investors Ackermans & van Haaren and Robelco (joined together within Project T&T SA , owner of the site), under discussion since 2001, makes it possible to lead to an in July 2007 agreement in principle. The agreement relates to the transformation of the site into a mixed zone of 30 hectares, a new district with residences (from 1.000 to 2.000 residences of 100 m ² of average), offices and green areas, and to make of Turn & Taxis a new district of Brussels which will be connected to the northern district of Brussels by a new line of tram which will probably pass by a new bridge to build on the channel. The projects considered in July 2007 relate to 600 to 700 million euros.

It is a long-term project, but the royal warehouse, principal building of the complex, already was renovated and accommodates companies, trade, trade fairs and other cultural or different events.

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