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Denkraam voor Fuse
Could the Fuse nightclub move permanently to a new location under Brussels South Station?
In three weeks time Brussels’ iconic night club The Fuse will be staging an event to mark its 29th birthday. The event won’t be tacking place at The Fuse’s own building in the Marollen area of Central Brussels, but rather in a building underneath Brussels South Railway Station. The subterranean location is not only easily accessible on public transport, but it is well-away from the nearest houses and as such there will be free of complaints from neighbours about noise nuisance from clubbers. In recent months The Fuse has had issues with some of its neighbours complaining of noise and was even forced to close temporarily. But could a permanent move to a new location at Brussels South be on the cards?
In an interview with the Brussels regional news platform Bruzz The Fuse’s Artistic Director Steven Van Belle said that the site underneath the station has a number of advantages "There are no neighbours and the location is large”.
In the past there have been numerous suggestions for what to do with Quadrilatères, a currently unused subterrain space underneath Brussels’ largest railway station. These ranged from an underground bus station to a large bicycle park and a market hall. However, none of these ideas ever came to fruition. But could the site be a perfect new permanent location for The Fuse night club?
The enforced temporary closure of the club earlier this year set Steven Van Belle thinking about a temporary location for the club. Mr Van Belle told Bruzz that “Pascal Smet (Flemish socialist Secretary of State in the Brussels regional government) came along with the idea of using the space underneath Brussels South Station. The rail company NMBS and the Mayor of Sint-Gilles Jean Spinette (Francophone socialist) were very enthusiastic about the idea and offered their full cooperation straight away. This resulted in The Fuse organising a 29th anniversary event there that will go ahead on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 April.
Permanent move?
But a permanent move to the site be on the cards?
"It would be saying a lot to state that we are considering a permanent move. We found the site when we were looking for a suitable location to celebrate the anniversary of our opening. There is currently still too much uncertainty about the Blaesstraat. The Fuse is currently located in the Blaesstraat in the Marollen area of Brussels city centre. Recent complaints from some of its neighbours about noise nuisance have created uncertainty about the future of the club that is know and loved by clubbers from Belgium and abroad.
"We don’t want to leave where we are now, but we need to keep our options open. This is why we have informed the Nightlife Taskforce that if we have to move Quadrilatères could be a location that would be of interest to us."
A suitable location?
Mr Van Belle believes that the Quadrilatères would be a suitable new location for The Fuse if the club were to be forced to move from the Blaesstraat. “There are no neighbours and the site is large. It has several rooms and is entirely underground. All this just 100 metres away from where we are now”.
Although as yes there are no firm plans for The Fuse to move, Mr Van Belle does already have an idea of how the club would look if it were to move to the Quadrilatères site. He told Bruzz that at a first glance it doesn’t seem that much work would be required to turn the site into a nightclub. However, “To be certain of this we would need to sit down with architects and engineers”.
He added that “The site has a very industrial and robust structure, and this is something that fits in with the image of our club”.
“As regards sound insulation, there would still be work to do anyway. For example, you can see in photos how daylight shines in, which means that the sound will be able to be heard outside. This is also the reason why we are holding our birthday event during the day. We don’t want the neighborhood to be saddled with two sleepless nights. There is also no electricity or water supply at the site. It is really just a shell, but the potential is there."
The Fuse’s 29th birthday party will take place on 22 and 23 April.
