Stereo Lecture in Basel: The Palais des Expositions in Charleroi

S AM Swiss Architecture Museum, Switzerland’s leading institution dedicated to disseminating knowledge about modern architecture, is hosting a talk on Charleroi’s Palais des Expositions with Jan De Vylder & Inge Vinck, Harold Fallon (AgwA), Georgios Maïllis, the Bouwmeester (city architect) of Charleroi.

The Palais des Expositions in Charleroi was built in 1953 to serve as a trade-fair venue for Belgium’s booming industrial sector. However, as the steel industry began to decline in the 1970s, activity on the site diminished. After years of vacancy, an opportunity for a fresh start emerged in 2016.

Architects Jan De Vylder & Inge Vinck and AgwA have transformed the building in spectacular fashion: they converted the central 66,000 m² portion of the structure — with 8-metre-high ceilings — into a vertical park by removing the façades, reduced the area devoted to trade fairs, and introduced new uses. The result is a built manifesto of frugal transformation.

Find all the information on the museum’s official page.

Discover the CHAPEX project in pictures thanks to the video produced by WBA, in collaboration with Jonathan Ortegat: