Talk of swimming pool on roof of new Abattoir building

An architect has been chosen for the next expansion of the Abattoir site in Anderlecht. A new building will also be home to a parking garage for visitors and – just maybe – a swimming pool on the roof.

Currently home to Brussels’ only slaughterhouse as well as the giant Foodmet weekend market, the Abattoir site is readying to break ground on the new building, called Manufakture, which will allow the slaughterhouse to expand.

Baukunst, with offices in Brussels and Lausanne, won a competition to design the new building, together with Brussels’ master architect. The building will be erected behind the historic market hall, which used to host meat sellers and now is home to a weekend flea market.

Kotmet

The ground floor of the new building will be taken up by meat preparation and other “food-related production,” an Abattoir spokesperson told Bruzz. Above that will be a parking garage with 420 spots. Visitors to the Foodmet will be able to use the garage.

Like the Foodmet’s rooftop farm, the roof of Manufakture will also be put to use. A final decision hasn’t been made, but the idea is that it be available to the public.

The design competition included a request to consider an open-air swimming pool for the roof. “The heat generated by the cooling installations on the lower floor could be recuperated to warm the swimming pool,” the Abattoir spokesperson said. “That would make it a much more sustainable investment than a traditional swimming pool.”

The Manufakture project will be carried out at a cost of €18 million, with €10 million coming from the EU. The building should be complete by 2023. Another project at the Abattoir site will in fact be done sooner: Kotmet will be made up of a shopping centre and student housing.