Life in Buda - Brussels Metropolitan northern area

LIFE IN BUDAAn interactive site survey

Elena Borghese Çiğdem Hacıoğlu

Life in Buda is an empirical research, related to the T.OP Noordrand process, coordinated by Ruimte Vlaanderen, aims to understand the relations bet-ween the industrial area and the city. The approach of the study is focused on revealing the economic values and the potentials of the industrial areas ra-ther than pushing them away from the city. The book contains the recent detailed data, the evaluati-on of the observations and the interviews in Buda.

INTRODUCTION 1

CONTEXT 2 AIM 5

1. From the outside: first impressions 6

2. From the inside: interviews 8

Octa +EcoworksElionaAmberigris Banden CentrumBel Pro GroupBadr FaroujAramis ContainerCleaning CompanyTurk Food ImpexAmphionSNG CarsMacadamDromeasLuxautoFlemish theatre of BrusselsHairdisAdley AdhesiveEx-VTRMobile Tyres ServiceParma Food SAYeni Yasam Dugun SalonuThyssen KruppDepot of Brussels CitySDLC La CaravelleDemo JVFlavoriPrayonCofely Fabricom GDF SuezVanbever-Heymans TransportRadiator DesignersPerfect NVCylmaintShurgard Self-StorageStoropack

CONCLUSION 26

BUILDING CATALOGUE 31

BUSINESS CATALOGUE 145

INTERVIEWS 157

CASS CITIES, PECULIARITIES AND PROPOSALS 17

INTRODUCTION

During the internship at Ruimte Vlaanderen, our work was focused on analyzing an industrial area in the “Brussels Metropolitan Northern Area”. Thanks to this, we had the opportunity to acquire knowledge of Belgian administrative and economic organization and Belgian life, and to study the issue of industrial areas.As an expanding city, Brussels has to deal with some new problems that are arising in many cities in the same state of development. But unlike other cities, Brussels has a unique complexity. Its administrative borders do not correspond with the geographical ones, as the Brussels Capital Region is located on Flemish territory. The city is growing, occupying the periphery. Moreover, the city has a tendency to push out its industrial areas, which are perceived to be unaesthetic and unsuitable for an urban environment. The study area has to deal with both problems, being loca-ted exactly on the verge of the city.

1

CONTEXT

The industrial area analyzed, called Buda, is part of the Noordrand (a metropolitan area in the northern part of Brussels). This particular ter-ritory is on the border of the Brussels Capital Region and the Flemish Region, where the majority of it lies.

The study area, which is approximately 1,3 km2, is delimited to the west by the Canal, to the north by the Beltway R0 (which has great visual im-pact in the area), to the east by Woluwelaan (which cause fragmentation of the urban fabric), and to the south by the railway. The fixed borders are all infrastructures which are a distinguishing feature in the area.

Leuven

Antwerp

Ghent

Bruges

Hasselt

Liege

NamurMons

Wavre

Arlon

Brussels

2

Buda is situated in the Brussels Metropolitan Northern Area. The border between the Brussels Capital Region and the Flemish Region runs in this area, as the map shows. This is surely another peculiarity of the area. Moreover, the territory belongs to three municipalities which are included in Noordrand: the City of Brussels, Machelen, and Vilvoorde. These frag-mentations represent a delicate problem to deal with for the manage-ment of the estate.

In the middle you can find a train station. Buda and the city center, which are not so far apart, are connected by train (only 12 minutes from Brussels Central Station!). The railway, which is part of the axis Brus-sels-Antwerp, divides the area into two parts. It runs at a level above the ground floor, causing the presence of the peculiar brick bridges you can see in Buda.

Brussels Capital Region

Vilvoorde

Machelen

Map of the admistrative borders

3

Buda Station

Another characteristic is the presence of the Canal and the Zenne, which were extremely important in the past. Buda is one of the oldest industrial areas of Brussels and it was essential to its economic development during the 1920s and 1930s. It is situated in the principal economic axis which connects the city of Brussels with the Flemish Region. The Canal was the main mode of transport for commercial transportation, for freight trans-port, and the principal access to the city. Today we can still see the Buda bridge, which is a lift bridge built in the 1950s. And it is a landmark of the area.

Nowadays it is still an industrial area: there are especially warehouses but you can also find some houses, as we will see in following pages.

Ferraris map - 1771Source: www.geopunt.be

Vandermaelen map - 1846Source: www.geopunt.be

Topological map - 1930Source: NGI GDI Vlaanderen

4

AIM

For people who do not work there and from a citizen’s point of view Buda is a mystery. To comprehend the dynamics of the activity and the relati-onships inside the area is rather difficult. What happens inside the ware-houses does not shine through. In this way, you can only form a partial opinion, based only on appearance. This could cause a wrong attitude towards new planning activities in Buda.

Therefore, our challenge was to see from the inside what is going on in Buda.

In order to gain the clearest idea possible, we decided to produce three catalogues: a buildings catalogue, an interview catalogue and a business catalogue.

The study was conducted in two steps:

1. From the outside: first impression 2. From the inside: interviews

5

0 0,5 1 2 kmThe Canal

In the beginning of this study, we went to Buda for a walk in order to start to know the streets and to understand how to proceed in our in-tent. Observing the buildings from the outside, we gained our first im-pressions about the area. In recent years Buda has been in decline. At least, this was the impres-sion we had when we looked at the architecture. There are few well-fi-nished and high-quality buildings, both among the old brick warehouses and among the new low-cost ones built with prefabricated parts. Of course, in any place the façades of the buildings are the first elements to contribute to public opinion on the area, which in this case revealed to be unpleasant.

Therefore, the first part of this study is dedicated to showing the buil-dings as they are at first sight walking in the street, without trying to comprehend what is happening inside, exactly as it happens in the real life. We have collected all the photos in a building catalogue.

When looking at the architecture, you cannot see any homogeneity in terms of both aesthetics and technology. Nevertheless, it is possible to divide the area into three parts:

1. the western zone near the Zenne: a compact block of buildings, al-most entirely made of bricks, divided into little workspaces; mixed resi-dential and commercial use;

2. ex Renault Factory: a big chunk, nowadays renovated and divided into many workspaces;

3. the area to the east of the railway: no homogeneity in architecture, characterized by isolated warehouses, with the exception of the Bruul-straat, where there are also dwellings.

1. From the outside: first impressions

1

6

2

3

7

2. From the inside: interviews

Estate survey

After visiting the site for the first time, we decided on the methodology to use during our survey. Because the Buda area appears to be dead at first, our purpose was to discover if these impressions were true. We started a “door- to-door survey” with the intent to go inside the buildings and to talk with people who work in the area, in order to un-derstand how they work there and if it is a good industrial area despite what it looks like. So the survey data was collected thanks to the interviews combined with observation, photographs and desktop research. We carried out the survey from July 2015 to September 2015. During that time five site visits were made and desktop research was done throughout.

Business catalogue

One of the aims of the research was to create a business catalogue. It was not clear which companies or activities were hidden inside the wa-rehouses. Immediately, you can imagine that most of the activities do not have a sign or still carry the signs of former companies. Moreover, only few buildings have distinguishing characteristics. Unfortunately, we did not manage to go inside all businesses: some of them were not open during the summer and in other buildings we were not allowed to go in. Furthermore, we immediately understood that there are a lot of logistic activities in this area, which made it sometimes difficult to find people to talk to. If the business was closed or inaccessible, we first tried to gather more information by asking neighbours or doing desktop research. When the business activity could not be verified on site or by desktop research, we catalogued it as “Unknown”.

In the business catalogue the following data were gathered for each workplace found: - Workplace address; - Business name; - Service provided; - Business contact details (telephone number & email address); - Business website; - The function of that specific building; - In addition to this information, during interviews we also collected more specific information like the number of employees at work in that building, and the period of time the business has been there.

8

Interviews

When we started our door-to-door survey, we did not know much about the activities in the area, how the relationships were between workers from different businesses and how life was there, so we did not have any expectations. It immediately showed that often the same answers were given. There is not one main activity in the area or a business that is significantly bigger than others: there are isolated businesses which work independently; almost all of them have the same impression about the area and they have the same daily routine.For this reason we thought that it was important to and to talk to a large number of people, even if it were only for a few minutes, to see of our impressions were correct and opinions about working in Buda really were that similar.

The main questions we asked concerned the following themes:

- history of the business (age, main location, if it had ever moved...) - information about the workforce (number of employees, origin...) - advantages of being located in Buda - problems both associated to the location and to the companies - relationships with neighbours and other companies - daily routine - needs and suggestions - their opinions about the developing projects in the area; - their opinion about the future of Buda.

84

85

Interviewed

Not interviewed

Map of the interviews

9

Diary of survey

We spent five days in the area, observing and taking interviews. We managed to talk with about 1/3 of businesses there, as you can see in the map. Not all of the interviews were extensive or particularly interesting but all of them were useful for a better understanding of the complexity of this industrial area. The maps describe our itinerary day by day. Sometimes we went back to the same area to collect more information.

Day 1 - Schaarbeeklei, Budasteenweg, Harensesteenweg, Louis Brentastraat: we observed the block where “Les Fonderies Buxel-loises” were. Now, half of this block, for which some restoration works are planned, is owned by Vlimmo. In the other half, many small businesses can be found. There are some vacant spaces: some companies have just moved, which is still shown by the old signs on the wall, and the building of “Les Fonderies Bruxelloises” seems abandoned. We also went to the block between the Zenne and Haresesteenweg. The first day was the most difficult, as we had to find the right way to approach workers and ask them the questions that were most useful in our research.

Day 2 - Budasteenweg, Digue du Canal, Harensesteenweg, Lou-is Brentastraat, Schaarbeeklei, Diegemstraat, Budasteenweg, Bruulstraat: after a meeting during which we discussed the infor-mation gained during the first day and planned how to proceed, we went back to the same area in order to collect missing infor-mation. Then, we tried to understand how the old Renault factory has been organized. Now it is like a puzzle, it has been divided in many parts: you can see some businesses from the outside, but inside there is also some rental space for warehouses or par-king spots. Some of these parts have been classified as Unknown because it was too complicated to find out which company they belong to. On the second day, we started to realise (especially thanks to Bananas and Adley Adhesive) that the ugly, monoto-nous warehouses could hide a very well finished and organized space inside. The companies, in this surrounding, are more inte-rested in creating a good working environment than in restoring and creating a nice building seen from the outside. Bruulstraat is a mixed road with both little houses and big warehouses.

Day 3 - Budasteenweg, Dobbelenbergstraat, Ganzenweidestraat, Verdunstraat, Woluwelaan, Holstraat: on the third day, we reali-zed that that these were individual companies. Each company has its own warehouse or building, which is not attached to others, and most of the time, the companies have no contact with neig-hboring businesses. It is exceptional to find people who know the neighborhood, like two people who work and live in the same place (the owners of Vanbever-Heymas Transport and of Radiators Design). In the Dobbelenbergstraat there are some houses but we did not manage to talk to the people who live there.

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Day 4 - Budasteenweg, Woluwelaan, Beaulieustraat, Rittweger-laan, Nieuwbrugstraat: in this area, the new shopping mall Uplace could be built, so we were interested in finding out what the exi-sting companies think about that. However, it proved difficult to conduct any interviews there, supposedly because many people were on holiday as it was summertime.

Day 5 - Schaarbeeklei, Nieuwbrugstraat, Emmanuelaan, Budas-teenweg, Diegemstraat: we went back to the former Reunault building and this time we entered from the back: this helped us a lot to understand how this site had been divided, even if we did not know all the companies located there. A big part of this area is occupied by Akzo Nobel, and another big part by the ex VTR (a leather factory) building which is now used by many companies.

Survey Outcomes

Based on the data collected there are approximately 140 workpla-ces within the study area. About 80% of those could be identified. About 15% of the identified buildings are vacant, which am-mounts to 11% of occupied surface. Only the 3% of the occupied surface is dwelling and these are located in the Schaarbeeklei, Bruulstraat and Dobbelenbergstraat.

Thanks to the interviews we got more data about the estate and how this industrial area is organised. As the interviews were not prearranged, not all questions were answered by each compa-ny. Sometimes it was difficult to gain the confidence of the em-ployees, especially in the Flemish part. We noticed various beha-viors among employees: some of them were pleasantly surprised by our interest in life in the area, others did not believe us, and still some people simply showed no interest in these themes. Ne-vertheless the information collected provides further insight into the workings of the estate.

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97%

3%

89%

11%

Vacant workspaces

Occupied workspaces

Houses

Mixte

Industrial buildings

How many vacant building are there in Buda? Where are they?

How many houses are there in Buda? Where are they?

% of occupied surface

% of occupied surface

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For the identified businesses we found that:

- As you can read in the Business catalogue and in the chart, the compa-nies which are located in this area provide different services but in this estate most of them have a warehouse, or they carry out logistic acti-vities. This is the main reason why only few people have reason to go there. Also, the most common statement issued by employees about the area was: “This is merely my workplace.” .

- The majority of workplaces was occupied by a sole business.

- All the businesses work separately. No company has links with other companies operating in the same area. The Buda area has many identi-ties.

- The age of companies there varies: there are both established and new businesses.

- The employees are coming from the northern part of the Brussels Capi-tal Region and Flanders. - Most of the companies rent the buildings.

- The companies are not really interested in the aspect of the building;

- There are not many vacant spaces, and they are to be found in the block near the Schaarbeeklei and in a polluted area located on the eas-tern side of the railway.

30%

25%

23%

15%

< 1

1<x<5

5<x<10

>10

Unknown

How many years is the business in this location?

13

11%

22%

34%

11%

8%

8%

7%

Leuven

Antwerp

Ghent

Bruges

Hasselt

Liege

NamurMons

Wavre

Arlon

Brussels

VilvoordeGrimbergen

Zaventem

Machelen

Merchtem

Tienen

How many houses are there in Buda? Where are they?

Where are employees come from?

Warehouses

logistics activities

offices

laboratories/factories

cafés/restaurants

shops/showrooms

garages

% of number of buildings

Also, even though businesses work separately and sometimes have diffe-rent necessities, most of them have the same opinion about the estate:

_ Problems: - too much dangerous traffic; - safety at night; - Some places are polluted cause of previous activities and the motorway - administrative problems because the area belongs to three separate municipalities and is located on the border of the Brussels Capital Region and the Flemish Region.

_ Advantages: - its location – which is proven by the large number of warehouse and logistic activities: - outside but close to the city center - at the heart of Belgium - in the center of Europe - good transportation connection: near the motorway and the Beltway R0. In terms of traffic, the northern part of Brussels It’s better to be in the north part of Brussels than the South, you can better avoid the traffic problems. - proximity to Brussels airport; - rental prices; - the size of the workplaces;

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France

Spain

Italy

Germany

Austria

Holland

Switzerland

Denmark

Belgium

United Kingdom

500 km

400 km

300 km

R0

R0

R0

R0

A4

A7

A8

A10

A12

A1

A3

GhentOstende

Antwerp Antwerp

Netherlands Netherlands

Leuven Germany

Namur

Luxembourg

MonsFrance

FranceTournai

Buda is well located

About the daily routine:

- most of them come from outside the area and use their own car- there are few public connections from Buda to the rest of Belgium- most of the employees spend their short lunch break in the workplace eating the food they bring from home. There are no facilities in the area. Some companies have a cafeteria.

General opinion about the industrial area and about the future:

- it is an important and essential industrial area for Brussels’ economy- it is suitable for the function- business is going well- they do not want to change it- it should be transformed into a safer place- it is necessary to solve the traffic problems

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Around two years ago Brussels and Flanders set up a development pro-gram for the Northern Metropolitan Area. In this program, Ruimte Vlaan-deren and Cass Cities organized two winter schools and two summer schools, for which students were invited to work on a different area of Noordrand. During the summer school of 2015, in which we also took part, interna-tional students were invited to work on Buda. In a few days they tried to assess and define what is missing in the area and make suggestions for future enhancements.All students, who had never seen the area before, could give new inputs and fresh ideas for the planning process. By emphasizing the slogan, “a good city has industry!”, the studies and discussions showed that new things are possible with spirited actions and small improvements. Some ideas, which could seem utopian, surely can open people’s minds about the positive elements of the Buda area.Even if the summer school took only five days, it provided us with a good basis for starting our research. During the summer school some necessities were identified in order to improve the planning approach:-necessity of a better understanding of the area (some of them start to prepare catalogues)-necessity of appreciating the existing elements (e.g. finding landmarks and their potential, integrating existing elements in new projects)-necessity of making the area visible and lively (e.g. organizing manu-facturing workshops, festivals or events in the open spaces)Some of these necessities have been confirmed by our survey.We tried to find the hidden potentialities observed by us and by the students of the summer school in order to answer the needs and re-es-tablish Buda as a lively place. In the first of the following maps we show the existing characteristics of Buda which could be preserved or renova-ted. In the second map, we try to identify interior and exterior spaces which could be valorized for new uses or where events could be organi-sed. Some of the areas indicated in the maps already have a function, but, in order to improve the quality of the estate, it is necessary to ima-gine what they could host in the new Buda. In this way, all the citizens, not only the people working in Buda, will become new characters in the area.

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CASS STUDIES, PECULIARITIES AND PROPOSALS17

BUDA MAPEXISTING PECULIARITIES

LM

LMLM

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Landmarks

Special industrial form

Historical building

Remarkable building

Brick bridge

Continuous facade

LM Landmarks

* Special industrial forms

Historical buildings

Brick bridges

Remarkable buildings

Continuous facade

Existing pecularities LM

Land

mar

ksH

isto

rica

l bu

ildin

gs

*

Spe

cial

indu

strial

fo

rms

Rem

arka

ble

build

ings

Brick

bridg

es

Con

tinuo

us f

acad

e

18 19

BUDA MAP

LM

1

3

LM

*

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********

*

*

*

*

C

C

C

CC

§

§

#

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C

Building

Vacant office on the upper floor

Even if the future of the area is unclear, these com-panies invest in Buda while the region is in a transfor-mation. Therefore, there are renovated vacant office spaces on the upper floor of buildings waiting their tenants.

Shoxroom/exhibition area

This is a special showroom, presenting the history of the business, by explaining the chronologic progress with the collection of products made in Buda and the com-memorative objects of the family.

Hall for conferences, work-shops, events

There are the potential spaces exactly in the middle of the industrial area which have the characteristics to be used for many types of possible events such as con-ferences, workshops, wed-ding celebrations, meetings, expositions, book publicity events so on.

Terrace

There is a panoramic view on the terrace of the Amphi-on which could be used du-ring possible events in order to ensure better perception of the identifying elements of Buda. Besides, the car parking area on the roof of VTR could also be used for events.

Café

Cafés could become meet-ing point. They would make the area a lively place by increasing the chance to encounter the users of the area with each other.

#

§

C

2

4

C

#

§

EXISTING PECULIARITIES

Landmark

Special industrial form

Historical building

Remarkable building

Brick bridge

Continuous facade

Vista/Panorama

With hard surface

with natural character

Alaong the Canal/Zenne

Under the viaduct

Vacant big parcel

Passage

Water elements

Vacant office on the upper floor

Showroom/exhibition area

Hall for conference, workshop, events

Terrace

Café

HIDDEN PECULIARITIES

Open Space

Building

LM

*

20 21

1

*******

#

1

The Canal and Zenne are huge assets in order to establish an at-tractive link among Buda, Brussels’ city center and Vilvoorde. The open spaces along them are important because they not only have natural characteristics regarding biodiversity but also potentials to encourage the public activities such as festivals – for instance extending the Festival Kanal to Buda-, open-air expositions, wharf uses and sports such as “wipschieten”, fishing, rowing, so on. The historic building on the Zenne could be renovated and also used for roof top art. It could be arranged in order to continue keeping an open door to industry and creating an access point to the func-tion inside. This building could also be considered, with its structu-re, a passage that could help to strengthen the pedestrian use and make horizontal links between the separated zones. Apart from viewing nature, Buda bridge or viaduct, there are some special industrial forms –some of them are also visible from the Beltway R0 and the Canal – like tanks which are striking. As the characteristic form of the industrial area, they should be valorized. They could be potentials as meeting points or tools to attract not only the people coming for the festival-type events but also the investors to the area. There are other elements such as pipe, or ruins of a wall could be used like a gate or a monumental element as part of a design.The open spaces with hard surfaces could be used for semi-public or temporarily public purposes such as art exhibitions, manufactu-ring workshops or open-air showrooms which give reference to the production process inside.

Images from CASS summer-school 2015

2

This point offers an interesting environment for possible pedestri-an path and cycling lane. The overlapping of the street, the railway and the viaduct creates a stimulating scenery. The green belt al-ong the railway could easily be transformed in a pedestrian path or in a cycling lane where people can have a nice walk in the green. The promenade could start in this point where the green belt bran-ches out in two, and could continue along the railway and cross all the Buda area. This point is also characterized by the two brick bridges under the railway. This suggestive passage, throughout which you can have a beautiful framing of the factories, including some historical details like the building of electricity, is the perfect place to install the beginning of the “Buda promenade”, providing it with signs and informative panels of the area. The bridges could also be used for installations.

Images from CASS winter-school 2015 and summer-school 2015

22 23

§

#

C

3

In this focus area, there is a café, a go-kart place and a recycling company. Surrounded by these buildings, there is also a potenti-al of arranging an open space and next to this area the continuity of the façades starts. Besides, this node includes the vista of a chimney within an urban fabric presenting the industrial character. Apart from the special industrial forms like chimneys, there are many remarkable buildings here such as the café which are diffe-rentiated from others with their colors, heights or forms. The café - like other buildings in Buda – also has the centrality potentials which would make the area lively place by increasing the chance to encounter the users of the area with each other. So it is requi-red to invest in the public realm especially for this node.

Images from CASS winter-school 2015

4

The viaduct has important potentials as it not only presents a bird’s eye view on itself, but also has a perceivable position from everywhere. It could be considered as a tool to make the area useful by amending the neglected area. It provides a semi-cover-ed place that could host events like markets, expositions. Because of its distance from the residential part of the city and in the same time its proximity to the city, even concerts could be organized in this particular area. It is visible from everywhere so the structu-re itself could be used for hanging up billboards, posters or other constructions which need to be evident, becoming, therefore, an attraction that could be seen from far away. In the map, we show the slack areas under the viaduct we think that are suitable for these types of uses and the ones which could also connect the two sides of the big infrastructure which, even if it is not on the ground floor, divides the estate into two parts.

Images from CASS winter-school 2015 and summer-school 2015

24 25

CONCLUSION

During our research and survey process we gained many interesting in-formation about Buda, therefore we now have a more complete view on the estate.After having talked with people who work in Buda and after having experienced the spaces, having walked in those streets for some days, we deduced our conclusions regarding the area.

The door-to-door survey and the interview method turned out to be an appropriate procedure to examine the study area, although we so-metimes had problems talking with people. The better way to getting to know a place is always talking with people who live there. “Visiting” an industrial area, we feel, it is not too different from visiting another part of the city: only local people can exactly say how the city is, they can give you the best suggestions and tell you secrets. Maybe, the first change we have to do is in our minds: we should change our mental ap-proach to industrial areas. We should stop and think that industrial areas are always unpleasant and squalid. Of course it is difficult to compare the aesthetics of warehouses to the aesthetics of the historical center of a medieval city; but industrial areas are an equally important and essen-tial part of a city, they only have different functions. Changing our men-tality also means we cannot always presume that the best approach is to push out activities, demolish and reconstruct the area.

So we think the biggest change is to comprehend that an industrial area is a part of a city, not to have any preconceptions and try to understand things we do not know.

After visiting Buda the first time we felt a strange sensation of uncer-tainty: it was different from the industrial areas that we were used to seeing, which were more unpleasant places than Buda, where there are very big warehouses with steel structures. According to us Buda seemed an extension of the city. Both the buildings and the streets have a hu-man scale dimension, but they are empty. It looks like a “ghost area”. In fact the annoyance that we felt was not caused by fear or by disgust, but it was generated by the doubt that in this area there was not anyone and that it did not work.

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After the study we could affirm that the area is not as it seemed. It has its features on which we should focus in order to solve its problems and to strengthen its connections with the city. We should let us stimulate by its characteristics.

Buda is still an important area for Brussels’ economy. From the outco-mes of the interviews you can understand that the area is dealing with decline, but, above all, the typology of activities are changing: now the-re are more logistic activities than before. Each person we talked to said that this area is perfect for their business. Buda is essential, it cannot be destroyed.

According to some employees, they prefer to be located in this area because rent is cheaper than the in south of Brussels and transportati-on connections are better developed. There are also new businesses in Buda, which means that people still choose to start new activities there and are confident about the future.As we could read in the previous pages all employees we talked to have the same opinion: they like working in Buda but they would never be there in the evening. The lack of security is the main problem - almost the only problem even – they complain about. In the evening, all the employees leave their workplaces and Buda becomes empty and deso-late. Of course, citizens are not enclined to spending their free time in Buda.

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“The contemporary industrial district is characterless, even well indi-vidual buildings are competently done and the cosmetic landscaping is heavily applied. The low structures are sprinkled across the grass and the asphalt. Since the interesting industrial processes are invisi-ble, one factory looks much like another. The ground are for show and for storage, not for active use. The view from the nearby road is important for its advertising value, but this is fulfilled by large signs. The advertising would be more effective if the plants were visually open or were expressive of their internal activity or if the ground were developed for active use or pleasure rather than as an empty land to be made decent with grass. Industrial area are not only unpleasant necessity, at their best neat and reticent. Roads, dams, bridges, pylons, cooling towers, stacks, quarries, equipment yards, production lines, even waste heap, can be compelling objects. They are big enough and meaningful enough to take their space in a large landscape. They could be woven into the extensive recrea-tional open space that we need. Making joint use parking and services, visually complementary, close weaving would allow employees to enjoy their leisure, and park users to learn how thing are made. But we isolate the working world. A recent pu-blication of good modern factory design only occasionally show the site plan. When it does, the plan is solely of the factory, never its context. Even the photographs show the factories as formal object, devoid of people, alien in an empty land.”

Kevin Lynch, Hack Gary, Site Planning, MIT Press, 3rd ed., 1984

These words of Kevin Lynch are still valid, even if written 30 years ago. He brings out some aspects of industrial areas on which we could medi-tate also for Buda.

- “Characterless (...),one factory looks much like another”

We think it is important to take better care of the buildings in order to upgrade the quality of the estate. The façades are the business card of the area. People would feel more calm being in a beautiful industrial area and, maybe, prouder. So, it is necessary to put up some standards, which may not be too ambitious so as to avoid discouraging businesses.

- “The view from the nearby road is important for its advertising value”

In Buda the non-visibility of businesses is a problem. We think it is very strange that we had to knock on every door to discover what happens inside the buildings. In a commercial area the advertisement should be obvious and spontaneous. But in Buda it is completely absent. Managing the area would be easier if its identity were better known. Moreover, people could feel more involved and their interest could be sparked if they had a better idea of what is happening in the area. Moreover, put-ting up fancy and colored signs could help to make Buda nicer and, as it is a way of advertising, it could also help businesses, creating a business strip.

“There is no reason why the methods of commercial persuasion and the skyline of signs analyzed here should not serve to the purpose of civic and cultural enhancement” “The big sign leaps to connect the driver to the store, and down the road the cake mixes and detergents are adver-tised by their national manufacturers on enormous billboards deflected toward the highway. The graphic sign in space has become the architec-ture of this landscape”.

D.S. Brown, R. Venturi, S. Izenour, Learning from Las Vegas, MIT Press, 1972

- “Making joint”

It is important not to isolate Buda. It is necessary to create links bet-ween the place and the people, especially people who do not work the-re. This can help solve the problem of the lack of security. According to Lynch, this link could be realized with parking areas. In our case, the area could be used to organize events, festivals. This idea also came up during the summer school, organized in collaboration with THE CASS and Ruimte Vlaanderen, in which we also took part. In the summer school students were challenged to identify the potentiality of the place and improve it. Everybody was clear that it was essential to attract peo-ple there. Events that need a lot of space or produce noise (like concerts or big markets) could easily find their location in Buda in the evening or in the weekend when businesses close. And small events can also occur during the week to show people the daily life in Buda. It could be very interesting to develop a program for Buda, also encouraging Canal Acti-vities.

28 29

BUILDINGS CATALOGUE

30 31

BUDA MAP

Scha

arbe

ekle

i

Har

ense

stee

nweg

Digu

e du

Can

al

Louis Brentastraat

Diegemstraat

Emm

anue

llaan

Budasteenweg

Budasteenweg

Dobbelenbergstraat

Bruulstraat

Ganz

enw

eide

stra

at

Verd

unst

raat

Wol

uwel

aan

Wol

uwel

aan

Ritt

weg

erla

an

Hol

stra

at

Beaulieustraat

Nieuwbrugstraat

32 33

July, 2015

CHARLIE’S ANGEL, Budaseesteenweg 100, 1800 Vilvoorde

35

July, 2015 July, 2015

ARAMIS CONTAINERS, Digue du Canal 100, 1130 Brussels Digue du Canal 102, 1130 Brussels

36 37

July, 2015 July, 2015

Harensesteenweg 482, 1800 Vilvoorde Harensesteenweg 486, 1800 Vilvoorde

July, 2015 July, 2015

Ex SOCATRA, Harensesteenweg 496, 1800 Vilvoorde BADR FAROUJ , Harensesteenweg 510, 1800 Vilvoorde

July, 2015 July, 2015

ANDRE SERVAES, Harensesteenweg 543, 1800 Vilvoorde DEPANNAGE ADAM, Harensesteenweg 515-547, 1800 Vilvoorde

July, 2015 July, 2015

BRICO SAF, Harensesteenweg, 1800 Vilvoorde ELIONA, Harensesteenweg 461, 1800 Vilvoorde

July, 2015 July, 2015

ECOWORKS, Harensesteenweg 455, 1800 Vilvoorde ECOWORKS, Louis Brentastraat 3, 1800 Vilvoorde

July, 2015 July, 2015OCTA+ , Schaarbeeklei 600, 1800 Vilvoorde OCTA+ , Schaarbeeklei 600, 1800 Vilvoorde

July, 2015 July, 2015

OCTA+ , Schaarbeeklei 556, 1800 VilvoordeATHETYS, Schaarbeeklei 566, 1800 Vilvoorde

July, 2015 July, 2015

FIRMA, Schaarbeeklei 636, 1800 Vilvoorde ELIONA, Schaarbeeklei 638, 1800 Vilvoorde

July, 2015 July, 2015

ELIONA, Schaarbeeklei 638, 1800 Vilvoorde AMBERGRIS BANDEN CENTRUM, Schaarbeeklei 652 , 1800 Vilvoorde

July, 2015 July, 2015

Schaarbeeklei 658 , 1800 Vilvoorde Schaarbeeklei 666 , 1800 Vilvoorde

July, 2015 July, 2015

BEL PRO GROUP , Schaarbeeklei 670, 1800 Vilvoorde Schaarbeeklei700, 1800 Vilvoorde

July, 2015 July, 2015

TURK FOOD Impex, Schaarbeeklei 724, 1800 Vilvoorde GARAGE ITAL TORINO, Schaarbeeklei 740, 1800 Vilvoorde

July, 2015 July, 2015

PART CAR sprl, Schaarbeeklei 748-750, 1800 Vilvoorde BANANAS, Schaarbeeklei 647, 1800 Vilvoorde

July, 2015 July, 2015

Schaarbeeklei 635, 1800 Vilvoorde BELEX BVC, Diegemstraat 19, 1800 Vilvoorde

July, 2015 July, 2015

SNG CARS, Schaarbeeklei 625, 1800 Vilvoorde DROMEAS, Schaarbeeklei 613, 1800 Vilvoorde

July, 2015 July, 2015

LUXAUTO, Schaarbeeklei 595, 1800 Vilvoorde Schaarbeeklei 575, 1800 Vilvoorde

July, 2015 July, 2015

Schaarbeeklei 555-525, 1800 Vilvoorde ICI PARIS XL,Schaarbeeklei 499, 1800 Vilvoorde

July, 2015 July, 2015

AKZO NOBEL, Emmanuellaan 1, 1830 Machelen AKZO NOBEL, Emmanuellaan 1, 1830 Machelen

July, 2015 July, 2015

COMPAS, Emmanuellaan 7, 1830 Machelen FLEMISH THEATRE Brussels, Emmanuellaan, 1830 Machelen

July, 2015 July, 2015

VIL- WEGTRANSPORORT, Emmanuellaan 2, 1830 Machelen Emmanuellaan, 1830 Machelen

July, 2015 July, 2015

HAIRDIS, Emmanuellaan 15, 1830 MachelenBudasteenweg, 1830 Machelen

July, 2015 July, 2015

ADLEY ADHESIVE, Budasteenweg 2A, 1830 Machelen DOCKX, Budasteenweg 2B, 1830 Machelen

July, 2015 July, 2015

FIRST KART INN, Budasteenweg 2a, 1830 Machelen DHL, Budasteenweg 16, 1130 Machelen

July, 2015 July, 2015

V.P.S.G., Budasteenweg 9, 1830 Machelen NEW ROCK VALLEE, Dobbelenbergstraat 104, 1130 Brussels

July, 2015 July, 2015

Dobbelenbergstraat 90, 1130 Brussels Dobbelenbergstraat 90, 1130 Brussels

July, 2015 July, 2015

EUR OLIVES import export, Dobbelenbergstraat 86, 1130 Brussels Dobbelenbergstraat 80, 1130 Brussels

July, 2015 July, 2015

B.R.MET. , Budasteenweg 1-2, 1130 Brussels Dobbelenbergstraat 115, 1130 Brussels

July, 2015 July, 2015

PARM FOOD SA, Dobbelenbergstraat 113, 1130 Brussels VW SHOP, Dobbelenbergstraat 113, 1130 Brussels

July, 2015 July, 2015

YENI YASAM Dugun Salonu, Dobbelenbergstraat 107, 1130 Brussels MEUBELIUM, Bruulstraat 74, 1130 Brussels

July, 2015 July, 2015

DEPOT OF BRUSSELS CITY, Bruulstraat , 1130 Brussels Bruulstraat 55 , 1130 Brussels

July, 2015 July, 2015

MICROSON, Dobbelenberg 103, 1130 BrusselsBruulstraat, 1130 Brussels

July, 2015 July, 2015

SDLC LA CARAVELLE, Ganzenweidestraat 303, 1130 Brussels VANBEVER-HEYMANS TRANSPORT, Ganzenweidestraat 316, 1130 Brussels

July, 2015 July, 2015

Ganzenweidestraat 314, 1130 Brussels PRAYON BENELUX, Dobbelenbergstraat 20, 1130 Haren

July, 2015 July, 2015

Dobbelenbergstraat, 1130 Haren Dobbelenbergstraat, 1130 Haren

July, 2015 July, 2015

GEA HAPPEL,Dobbelenbergstraat 7, 1130 Brussel RADIATOR DESIGNERS , Ganzenweidestraat 314, 1130 Brussel

July, 2015 July, 2015

COFELY FABRICOM GDF SVEZ, Rue du Dobbelenberg 8, 1130 Brussels RESTOFRAIS, Verdunstraat 741, 1130 Haren

July, 2015 July, 2015

BAR FINAL, Verdunstraat 724, 1130 Haren URM Universal Rubber, Verdunstraat 742, 1130 Haren

July, 2015 July, 2015

Woluwelaan, 1831 Diegem SOLUCIOUS, Woluwelaan 10, 1831 Diegem

July, 2015 July, 2015

WORLD PACK, Woluwelaan 6, 1830 Machelen Holstraat 11, 1831 Machelen

July, 2015 July, 2015

PERFECT NV, Holstraat 3-5, 1830 Machelen FedEx, Budasteenweg 31-33, 1830 Machelen

July, 2015 July, 2015

Verdunstraat 750, 1130 Brussel DELIRIOM CLUB, Woluwelaan 59, 1830 Machelen

July, 2015 July, 2015

QUICK PARKING ZAVENTEM, Budasteenweg 42 , 1830 Machelen Budasteenweg, 1830 Machelen

July, 2015 July, 2015

Budasteenweg, 1830 Machelen FLAVORI, Budasteenweg 26 , 1830 Machelen

July, 2015 July, 2015

DEMO JV, Budasteenweg 20, 1830 Machelen LOUIS DE WAELE, Rittwegerlaan 58, 1830 Machelen

July, 2015 July, 2015

SUITOMO CHEMICAL EUROPE, Budasteenweg, 1830 Machelen CYLMAINT, Beaulieustraat 4, 1830 Machelen

July, 2015 July, 2015

GEBERIT, Beaulieustraat 6, 1830 Machelen FRAIKIN, Beaulieustraat 10, 1830 Machelen

July, 2015 July, 2015

BANDEN PNEUS LOUIES, Beaulieustraat 12, 1830 Machelen AB FLEX, Beaulieustraat 18B, 1830 Machelen

July, 2015 July, 2015

FEDERAL POLICE, Woluwelaan 55, 1830 Machelen CHASSIS DIFFUSION, Woluwelaan 55, 1830 Machelen

July, 2015 July, 2015

SUITOMO CHEMICAL EUROPE, Woluwelaan 57, 1830 Machelen SHURGARD, Woluwelaan 51, 1830 Machelen

July, 2015 July, 2015

Rittwegerlaan, 1830 Machelen Beaulieustraat, 1830 Machelen

July, 2015 July, 2015

Nieuwbrugstraat 85, 1830 Machelen NEWREST, Nieuwbrugstraat 83, 1830 Machelen

July, 2015 July, 2015

STOROPACK, Nieuwbrugstraat 79, 1830 Machelen JEAN MUSELLE, Nieuwbrugstraat 75 /B-1830 Machelen

July, 2015Nieuwbrugstraat 71 , 1830 Machelen

BUSINESS CATALOGUE

...144 145

BUDA MAP

Business

1

2

1

34

56

78

9

1211

1314

1516

17

1819

2021 22

1717

28 2927

2625

23 24

30

31

32-33-34

383736

3539

40-41

42 43

44

44

45

42

46

48

49

50

10

4751

52

53

5455

5657

8081

82

83

84

85

86

87

88

89

90

91

92

93

9495

96

97

9899

100101

102 103

104405

106107

108

111 112

113

114

115116

117

118119

121

122123

124125126

129

127

128130

133

134

135

136

137

120

138

139

140141

142143

145

144

111

131

13257

109

110

5859

6061

6263

64

65

66

67

68

6970

6371

7273

74

7576-7778

79

146 147

No. ADRESS BUSINESS NAME MANUFACTER OF/SERVICE PROVIDED CONTACTED NO. CONTACTED MAIL WEBSITE INTERVIEWED FUNCTION YEARS IN THIS LOCATION

NO. EMPLOYEES

RESEARCH METHOD

NOTES

1 Schaarbeeklei 600, 1800 Vilvoorde OCTA + Electric gas, fuel provider 02 851 02 52 / www.octaplus.be Y Office and factory Site survey Desktop search for the sector

2 Schaarbeeklei 566, 1800 Vilvoorde ATHETYS Organizer of logistics, transport and security courses for big company.

02 253 85 11 / www.athetys.eu N Warehouse Site survey Desktop search for the sector

3 Harensesteenweg 482-486, 1800 Vilvoorde Vacant Site survey Desktop search for the sector

4 Digue du Canal 102, 1130 Brussels Unknown Site survey Desktop search for the sector

5 Louis Brentastraat 3, 1800 Vilvoorde ECOWORKS Green design - production and sale of greenwall, greenroof, swimmingpond

02 657 77 31 [email protected] http://ecoworks.be Office, warehouse 10 14 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

6 Schaarbeeklei 636, 1800 Vilvoorde FIRMA Creative community 02 255 18 88 [email protected] www.firma.be Design office and workshop Site survey Desktop search for the sector

7 Schaarbeeklei 638, 1800 Vilvoorde ELIONA (WINTERHALTER) Sale and reparing dishwashers and microwave ovens

02 255 18 10 / www.winterhalter.be Y Warehouse and showroom 15 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

8 Schaarbeeklei 636 B, 1800 Vilvoorde BARONESS O. Design company / / http://baronesso.com Design office Site survey Desktop search for the sector

9 Schaarbeeklei 652 , 1800 Vilvoorde AMBERGRIS BANDEN CENTRUM Tyres import and export - Car repair centre 02 253 33 58 [email protected] www.interbelgiumtyres.be Y Garage 4 5 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

10 Schaarbeeklei 658 , 1800 Vilvoorde Vacant Site survey Desktop search for the sector

11 Schaarbeeklei 666 , 1800 Vilvoorde Unknown Site survey Desktop search for the sector

12 Schaarbeeklei 670, 1800 Vilvoorde BRICO SAF / BEL PRO GROUP Builing materials 02 252 65 55 [email protected] www.belprogroup.be Y Warehouse and shop 6 5 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

13 Schaarbeeklei 686, 1800 Vilvoorde ABC AUTOMOTIVE BELGIUM COMPANY Cars sale 02 253 23 80 / www.abcvil.com N Showroom and shop Site survey Desktop search for the sector

14 Schaarbeeklei 690, 1800 Vilvoorde HORECA Technology solutions IT solutions, hardware and software provider, for the entire hospitality industry

02 254 31 00 / www.h-t-s.be N Office Site survey Desktop search for the sector

15 Schaarbeeklei700, 1800 Vilvoorde Vacant Site survey Desktop search for the sector

16 Harensesteenweg 515-547, 1800 Vilvoorde DEPANNAGE ADAM Repair, sale and purchase of forklifts trucks (also 2nd hand)

0475/24 33 75 [email protected] www.depannage-adam.com N Warehouse Site survey Desktop search for the sector

17 Harensesteenweg 496, 1800 Vilvoorde Vacant Site survey Desktop search for the sector

18 Harensesteenweg 510, 1800 Vilvoorde BADR FAROUJ Chicken slaughterhouse 02 253 65 91 / / Y Office and slaughterhouse 11 17 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

19 Digue du Canal 100, 1130 Brussels ARAMIS CONTAINERS Rent container and waste selecting center 02 427 65 75 / / Y Office and hangar for demolition

15 7 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

20 Digue du Canal, 1130 Brussels Vacant Site survey Desktop search for the sector

21 Budaseesteenweg 100, 1800 Vilvoorde CHARLIE'S ANGEL / / http://sexy-charlies-angels.com N Cafe Site survey Desktop search for the sector

22 Harensesteenweg, 1800 Vilvoorde Vacant Site survey Desktop search for the sector

23 Harensesteenweg 543, 1800 Vilvoorde CLEANING COMPANY Industrial cleaning Y Office 16 3 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

24 Schaarbeeklei 724, 1800 Vilvoorde TURK FOOD Impex Food export 02 426 36 76 / www.turk-food.com Y Office and warehouse 1 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

25 Harensesteenweg 543, 1800 Vilvoorde ANDRE SERVAES Transport for moving and storage 02 268 11 73 [email protected] www.servaes-andre.net N Office Site survey Desktop search for the sector

26 Schaarbeeklei 740, 1800 Vilvoorde GARAGE ITAL TORINO Car repair centre, garage 02 251 63 54 / / Y Garage 1 4 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

27 Schaarbeeklei 748-750, 1800 Vilvoorde PART CAR sprl Car repair centre, garage 0488 011 211 [email protected] www.PartCar.be Y Garage Site survey Desktop search for the sector

28 Budaseesteenweg 21, 1800 Vilvoorde Vacant Site survey Desktop search for the sector

29 Budaseesteenweg 27, 1800 Vilvoorde restaurant Restaurant Site survey Desktop search for the sector

30 Schaarbeeklei 649, 1800 Vilvoorde GLS National and internationa transport and logistics company

02 55 66 211 / https://gls-group.eu N Logistics center Site survey Desktop search for the sector

31 Schaarbeeklei 647, 1800 Vilvoorde Unknown Site survey Desktop search for the sector

32 Schaarbeeklei 647, 1800 Vilvoorde BANANAS Organize events agency 02 255 85 85 [email protected] www.bananas.be N Design office 10 9 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

33 Schaarbeeklei 647, 1800 Vilvoorde AMPHION Design agency 02 255 85 00 [email protected] www.amphion.be Y Design office 10 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

34 Schaarbeeklei 647, 1800 Vilvoorde JUST. Social media and digital agency 02 255 30 01 [email protected] http://justagency.eu N Design office 10 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

35 Schaarbeeklei 635, 1800 Vilvoorde Vacant Site survey Desktop search for the sector

36 Diegemstraat 9 B, 1800 Vilvoorde ZF Services Belgium NV Driveline and chassis technology 02 251 81 53 [email protected] www.zf.com/be N Office and laboratory Site survey Desktop search for the sector

37 Diegemstraat 9 B, 1800 Vilvoorde BELGIAN BEVERAGES COMPANY BVBA Drinks import export 02 725 14 86 / / N Warehouse Site survey Desktop search for the sector

38 Diegemstraat 19, 1800 Vilvoorde BELEX BVC Air transport and parcel distribution to Africa www.belexairfreight.com N Logistics center Site survey Desktop search for the sector

39 Schaarbeeklei 625, 1800 Vilvoorde SNG CARS/SNG RECUP Car repair centre and used car sale 02 216 86 16 [email protected] www.sngcars.com Y Garage and showroom 2 5 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

40 Schaarbeeklei 613, 1800 Vilvoorde (1st floor) ALCOVIL / / / N / Site survey Desktop search for the sector

41 Schaarbeeklei 613, 1800 Vilvoorde (4th floor) MACADAM Automotive market 02 756 59 59 [email protected] www.macadam.eu Y Office 1 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

42 Schaarbeeklei 613, 1800 Vilvoorde DROMEAS Office forniture 02 751 08 25 [email protected] www.dromeas.gr Y Showroom and warehouse <1 2 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

43 Schaarbeeklei 595, 1800 Vilvoorde LUXAUTO cars rental 02 257 04 04 [email protected] www.luxauto.be Y Office and garage 20 8 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

44 Schaarbeeklei 585 B, 1800 Vilvoorde BURO MARKET office furniture and material office sale 02 725 14 14 [email protected] www.buromarket.com N Showroom and shop Site survey Desktop search for the sector

46 Diegemstraat, 1800 Vilvoorde FIAT Automotive market / / / Y Office and laboratory 8 4 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

47 Schaarbeeklei 555, 1800 Vilvoorde DENT ART automative solution Car repair centre 02 253 25 55 [email protected] www.dentart.be N / Site survey Desktop search for the sector

48 Diegemstraat 45, 1800 Vilvoorde IZMOCARS Automotive market 02 751 03 59 / www.izmocars.eu N / Site survey Desktop search for the sector

49 Schaarbeeklei 525, 1800 Vilvoorde D'IETEREN used car remarketing Used car sale 02 609 84 10 [email protected] www.dieterenremarketing.be N / Site survey Desktop search for the sector

50 Schaarbeeklei 499, 1800 Vilvoorde ICI PARIS XL Beauty and health care products 02 340 06 80 / www.iciparisxl.be N Office and warehouse Site survey Desktop search for the sector

51 Emmanuellaan 1, 1830 Machelen AKZO NOBEL Paints and coatings company and a major producer of specialty chemicals

02 255 15 11 / www.akzonobel.com N Office and laboratory Site survey Desktop search for the sector

52 Emmanuellaan 7, 1830 Machelen COMPAS Transport for moving and storage 02 253 69 10 / www.compasim.be N Office and garage Site survey Desktop search for the sector

53 Emmanuellaan, 1830 Machelen FLEMISH THEATRE Brussels Workshop for scenic design / / / Y Workshop 1 4 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

54 Generaal Lemanlaan 5, 1830 Machelen CARROSSERIE KARREVELD Car repair centre 02 721 19 91 / www.carrosserie-vanderelst.be N Garage Site survey Desktop search for the sector

55 Emmanuellaan 15, 1830 Machelen HAIRDIS Hairdresser products / / www.hairdis.com Y Warehouse <1 5 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

56 Budasteenweg 2A, 1830 Machelen ADLEY adhesive Manufacture and export of glue 02 424 15 55 [email protected] www.adley.be Y Warehouse, office, workshop


57 Emmanuellaan 2, 1830 Machelen Budasteenweg 2, 1830 Machelen

VIL- WEGTRANSPORORT National and internationa transport and logistics company

02 253 50 84 [email protected] www.viltransport.be N Warehouse and logistics center

Site survey Desktop search for the sector

58 Emmanuellaan, 1830 Machelen Unknown

59 Emmanuellaan, 1830 Machelen TAXI PAK / / / / N Site survey Desktop search for the sector

60 Emmanuellaan, 1830 Machelen BRUSSELS AIRLINES air company / / www.brusselsairlines.com N Warehouse Site survey Desktop search for the sector

61 Emmanuellaan, 1830 Machelen Unknown Site survey Desktop search for the sector

62 Budasteenweg, 1130 Machelen Unknown Site survey

63 Budasteenweg 16, 1130 Machelen DHL Parcel delivery and logistics / / WWW.dhl.be N Logistics center Site survey Desktop search for the sector

64 Budasteenweg 2B, 1830 Machelen DOCKX Vehicules rental 02 253 75 75 [email protected] www.dockx.be N Office and garage Site survey Desktop search for the sector

65 Budasteenweg 2a, 1830 Machelen FIRST KART INN Indoor karting track 02 251 50 04 [email protected] www.fki.be N Karting track Site survey Desktop search for the sector

66 Budasteenweg 1-2, 1130 Brussels B.R.MET. Ferrous and non-ferrous metals, elettronic and elettric waste recycling

02 251 37 56 [email protected] www.brmet.be N Hangar for demolition Site survey Desktop search for the sector

67 Dobbelenbergstraat 123, 1130 Brussels Unknown Site survey Desktop search for the sector

68 Dobbelenbergstraat 104, 1130 Brussels NEW ROCK VALLEE Restaurant 02 215 40 81 / / N Restaurant Site survey Desktop search for the sector

69 Dobbelenbergstraat 90, 1130 Brussels Vacant Site survey Desktop search for the sector

70 Dobbelenbergstraat 86, 1130 Brussels EUR OLIVES import export Food import export 02 219 25 39 [email protected] www.eur-olives.com N Office and Warehouse Site survey Desktop search for the sector

71 Budasteenweg 9, 1830 Machelen V.P.S.G. Shooting range 02 252 28 97 [email protected] www.vpsg.be N Shooting range Site survey Desktop search for the sector

72 Dobbelenbergstraat 76, 1130 Brussels Unknown Site survey Desktop search for the sector

73 Dobbelenbergstraat 78, 1130 Brussels MOBILE TYRES SERVICE Tyres sale 02 759 83 35 / http://mobile-tyres-service.be Y Shop and garage <1 15 Site survey Desktop search for the sector



76 Dobbelenbergstraat 113, 1130 Brussels GRANDI CUCINE ITALIANE sprl Kitchen eauipent for restaurant 02 245 22 44 / / Warehouse and office Site survey Desktop search for the sector

77 Dobbelenbergstraat 113, 1130 Brussels PARM FOOD SA Italian food export / / Y Warehouse and office 30 4 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

78 Dobbelenbergstraat 113, 1130 Brussels VW SHOP Recup of car pieces and sale 02 216 06 21 / / Y Garage 1 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

79 Dobbelenbergstraat 107, 1130 Brussels YENI YASAM Dugun Salonu Party and celebration hall 0478 55 68 98 / / Y Party and celebration hall 10 20 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

80 Bruulstraat 22, 1130 Brussels THYSSENKRUP Production and distribution of elevator or part of elevator

02 247 35 11 [email protected] www.thyssenkruppascenseurs.be Y Warehouse 4 3 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

81 Bruulstraat 26-32, 1130 Brussels Vacant Site survey Desktop search for the sector

82 Bruulstraat 74, 1130 Brussels MEUBELIUM Furiniture shop / / www.meubelium.com Y Warehouse Site survey Desktop search for the sector

83 Bruulstraat , 1130 Brussels DEPOT OF BRUSSELS CITY Building materials depot 02 268 48 49 / / Y Warehouse 10 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

84 Bruulstraat 77 , 1130 Brussels VIABUILD BETON EN ASFALT BVBA Asfalt factory 02 216 17 83 [email protected] www.viabuild.be N Factory Site survey Desktop search for the sector

85 Bruulstraat 55 , 1130 Brussels Vacant Site survey Desktop search for the sector

86 Dobbelenberg 103, 1130 Brussels MICROSON Specialised in audio equipment 02 216 42 42 [email protected] www.microson.be N / Site survey Desktop search for the sector

87 Ganzenweidestraat 303, 1130 Brussels SDLC LA CARAVELLE Wholesaler of book 02 240 93 00 [email protected] www.sdlcaravelle.com Y Warehouse and office 60 50 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

88 Budasteenweg, 1830 Machelen N.V. DEKEMPENEER H.F.W. Building construction 02 720 0 .14 [email protected] www.dekempeneer.be N Warehouse Site survey Desktop search for the sector

45 Schaarbeeklei 575, 1800 Vilvoorde Unknown


NO. EMPLOYEES

RESEARCH METHOD

NOTES


94 Ganzenweidestraat 314, 1130 Brussels Unknown Desktop search for the sector

95 Ganzenweidestraat 314, 1130 Brussel RADIATOR DESIGNERS Import and sale of Italian radiators 02 705 08 73 [email protected] www.radiatorsdesigners.be Y Office, showroom and warehouse


96 Ganzenweidestraat 314, 1130 Brussel LA PASSERELLE Scaffolding 02 245 20 99 [email protected] http://lapasserelle-echafaudages.be Y Warehouse 20 6 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

97 Dobbelenbergstraat 7, 1130 Brussel GEA HAPPEL Production and distribution of air conditioning, heating, ventilation

02 240 61 61 [email protected] www.gea-happel.be N / Site survey Desktop search for the sector

98 Dobbelenbergstraat, 1130 Brussel Unknown Site survey Desktop search for the sector

99 Verdunstraat 741, 1130 Haren RESTOFRAIS Food supplier 02 245 07 81 [email protected] http://fruitslegumesgrossistebruxelles.be N Office and logistics center Site survey Desktop search for the sector

100 Verdunstraat 724, 1130 Haren BAR FINAL / / / N Cafe Site survey Desktop search for the sector

101 Verdunstraat 742, 1130 Brussel URM Universal Rubber Manufacture of rubber products 02 25 15 242 [email protected] www.urm.be N Office Site survey Desktop search for the sector

102 Verdunstraat 742, 1130 Brussel INFRABEL Contruction of rail infrastructures 02 525 22 11 / www.infrabel.be N Warehouse 1 2 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

103 Woluwelaan, 1831 Diegem Vacant Logistics center Site survey Desktop search for the sector

104 Woluwelaan 10, 1831 Diegem SOLUCIOUS Food export / / www.solucious.be N Logistics center Site survey Desktop search for the sector

105 Woluwelaan, 1831 Diegem Unknown Site survey Desktop search for the sector

106 Holstraat 3-5, 1831 Diegem HOOLANTS BETON Beton factory 02 252 22 78 [email protected] www.hoolants-beton.be Y / Site survey Desktop search for the sector

107 Verdunstraat 750, 1130 Brussel Unknown Site survey Desktop search for the sector

108 Rittwegerlaan 39 B-1830 Machelen NAIT BARKA Garage - import export cars 02 759 33 63 [email protected] www.naitbarka.be N Garage Site survey Desktop search for the sector

109 Budasteenweg 31, 1830 Machelen EUROMAT Rental and sale of machines and professional tools

02 252 45 20 [email protected] www.euromat.be N Office, showroom and warehouse


110 Budasteenweg 31-33, 1830 Machelen FedEx Parcel delivery and logistics 02 752 75 75 www.fedex.com N Logistics center Site survey Desktop search for the sector

111 Holstraat 3-5, 1830 Machelen PERFECT NV Industrial washing 02 251 15 70 / / Y Laudromat and office 30 25 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

112 Holstraat 7, 1830 Machelen BEAVER Aluminum factory 02 252 06 96 [email protected] www.beavernet.be N Warehouse Site survey Desktop search for the sector

113 Woluwelaan 6, 1830 Machelen WORLD PACK Packaging for transportation 02 253 06 00 / www.export-packaging.com N Office and warehouse Site survey Desktop search for the sector

114 Holstraat 11, 1831 Machelen Vacant Site survey Desktop search for the sector

115 Woluwelaan 59, 1830 Machelen DELIRIOM CLUB Cafe Site survey Desktop search for the sector

116 Budasteenweg , 1830 Machelen DIRECT WAY 5 stars chauffeurred-transportation 02 772 00 00 [email protected] www.directway.be N Office and garage Site survey Desktop search for the sector

117 Budasteenweg 42 , 1830 Machelen QUICK PARKING ZAVENTEM Parking 02 400 39 03 [email protected] www.parkingzavantem.be N Office and parking Site survey Desktop search for the sector

118 Budasteenweg, 1830 Machelen Unknown Site survey Desktop search for the sector

119 Rittwegerlaan 58, 1830 Machelen LOUIS DE WAELE (LES ENTREPRISES) NV-SA Construction of building 02 252 31 38 / www.louisdewaele.be N Office, warehouse Site survey Desktop search for the sector

120 Woluwelaan 57, 1830 Machelen SUITOMO CHEMICAL EUROPE Chemistry products 02 251 06 50 / www.sumitomo-chemical.be N Office, laboratory and logistics center


121 Woluwelaan 55, 1830 Machelen CHASSIS DIFFUSION Window and door manufacturer 02 215 47 26 [email protected] www.chassisdiffusion.be N Showroom and office Site survey Desktop search for the sector

122 Woluwelaan 55, 1830 Machelen FEDERAL POLICE Office N Office Site survey Desktop search for the sector

123 Beaulieustraat, 1830 Machelen Unknown Site survey Desktop search for the sector

124 Beaulieustraat 18B, 1830 Machelen AB FLEX Specialised in hydraulic works 03 219 80 00 [email protected] www.abflex.be Shop Site survey Desktop search for the sector

125 Beaulieustraat 12, 1830 Machelen BANDEN PNEUS LOUIES Tyres sale 02 252 55 50 [email protected]

www.bplservice.be N Shop Site survey Desktop search for the sector

126 Beaulieustraat 10, 1830 Machelen FRAIKIN Rental of industrial and commercial vehicles 02 257 17 60 / www.fraikin.be N Office and warehouse Site survey Desktop search for the sector

127 Beaulieustraat 8, 1830 Machelen Vacant Site survey Desktop search for the sector

128 Beaulieustraat 6, 1830 Machelen GEBERIT Specialised in bathroom equipment - designer and sale

02 252 01 11 [email protected] www.geberit.be N Office and warehouse Site survey Desktop search for the sector

129 Rittwegerlaan 42-44, 1830 Machelen Unknown Site survey Desktop search for the sector

130 Rittwegerlaan, 1830 Machelen Unknown Site survey Desktop search for the sector

131 Rittwegerlaan, 1830 Machelen Unknown Site survey Desktop search for the sector


NO. EMPLOYEES

RESEARCH METHOD

NOTES

Site survey

89 Budasteenweg 20, 1830 Machelen DEMO JV Demolition work 02 203 33 44 [email protected] www.demojv.be Y Office and hangar for demolition


90 Budasteenweg 26 , 1830 Machelen FLAVORI Spices export 02 215 61 79 [email protected] http://flavori.com Y Warehouse and office 12 21 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

91 Dobbelenbergstraat 20, 1130 Haren PRAYON BENELUX sales of detergents, fertilisers, pharmaceuticals products

03 860 18 28 [email protected] www.prayonbenelux.be Y Warehouse 20 3 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

92 Dobbelenbergstraat 8, 1130 Brussels COFELY FABRICOM GDF SVEZ Construction of infrastructures 02 370 32 96 / www.cofelyfabricom-gdfsuez.com Y Warehouse and laboratory 25 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

93 Ganzenweidestraat 316, 1130 Brussel VANBEVER-HEYMANS TRANSPORT Transport parcel to and from the airport 02 216 71 57 [email protected] / Y Office and garage 5 21 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

135 Beaulieustraat, 1830 Machelen Vacant Site survey Desktop search for the sector

136 Nieuwbrugstraat 66, 1830 Machelen CAMINEX Transport maritime 02 252 05 20 / / Y Garage <1 4 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

137 Nieuwbrugstraat, 1830 Machelen Unknown Site survey Desktop search for the sector

138 Nieuwbrugstraat 85, 1830 Machelen Vacant Site survey Desktop search for the sector

139 Rittwegerlaan 20, 1830 Machelen BUDA CARS Car repair centre - garage 02 253 02 27 [email protected] / N Garage Site survey Desktop search for the sector

140 Nieuwbrugstraat 83, 1830 Machelen NEWREST Global leader in multi-sector catering 02 720 78 60 [email protected] www.newrest.eu/en/europe/belgium N Office Site survey Desktop search for the sector

141 Nieuwbrugstraat 79, 1830 Machelen STOROPACK Packaging distribution 02 756 80 90 [email protected] www.storopack.be Y Office and logistics center 9 20 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

142 Nieuwbrugstraat 77 , 1830 Machelen CARROSSERIE KARREVELD Car repair centre 02 726 00 60 [email protected] www.karreveld.com N Garage Site survey Desktop search for the sector

143 Nieuwbrugstraat 75 /B-1830 Machelen JEAN MUSELLE Insulation work in buildings 02 251 31 76 [email protected] www.jeanmuselle.be N Office and warehouse Site survey Desktop search for the sector

144 Nieuwbrugstraat 71 , 1830 Machelen Vacant Site survey Desktop search for the sector

145 Nieuwbrugstraat 73, 1830 Machelen KBS Transport and logistics 02 241 50 80 / www.kbs.be N Logistics center Site survey Desktop search for the sector


NO. EMPLOYEES

RESEARCH METHOD

NOTES

132 Beaulieustraat 4, 1830 Machelen CYLMAINT Renewal and maintenance of high pressure gas cylinders and manufacture of cylinders

03 685 09 29 [email protected] www.cylmaint.be Y Factory and office 3 17 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

133 Woluwelaan 51, 1830 Machelen SHURGARD self storage 02 257 01 00 / www.shurgard.be Y 15 2 Site survey Desktop search for the sector

134 Rittwegerlaan, 1830 Machelen Vacant Site survey Desktop search for the sector

INTERVIEWS

Map number

Address

Years in this location

Employees on site

Serviced provided

?

1

INTERVIEWS

148 157

BUDA MAP

Interviewed

Not-interviewed

1

2

1

34

56

78

9

1211

1314

1516

17

1819

2021 22

1717

28 292726

25

23 24

30

31

32-33-34

383736

3539

40-41

42 43

44

44

45

42

46

48

49

50

10

4751

52

53

5455

5657

8081

82

83

84

85

86

87

88

89

90

91

92

93

9495

96

97

9899

100101

102 103

104105

106107

108

111 112

113

114

115116

117

118119

121

122123

124125126

129

127

128130

133

134

135

136

137

120

138

139

140141

142143

145

144

111

131

13257

109

110

5859

6061

6263

64

65

66

67

68

6970

6371

7273

74

7576-7778

79

158 159

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OCTA +1

Schaarbeeklei 600, 1800 Vilvoorde

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Electric gas, fuel providerOffice, factory

Octa sells fuel and electronic gas. In Buda there’s the factory and some offices. Some customer service staff were having a little break in the smoking area out-side. All of them have the similar daily routine and feel the same about Buda: they only come out here to do their job, and are unfamiliar with the local area. They only have half an hour for lunch, and when they finish work they are very tired and the only thing that they want to do is get back home. “We never walk around the area, because there’s nothing to see! For lunch we usually order all together from somewhere in Vilvoorde. We have our food delivered directly to the office and all eat together in the cafeteria.”.One employee is from Vilvoorde. We asked her about the plans for the new shopping mall: “I know that some people are against it. I don’t know exactly why, maybe for environmental reasons. OK, I agree, but I think it will improve life of the local residents in Vilvoorde as well as that of the people who work in this area.”.Another employee from Vilvoorde comes into work by bike. She doesn’t want to wait for a bus, or spend her time in a traffic jam so she thinks the best way to come by bike, although she concedes the cycle lane isn’t so comfortable: it’s narrow and she is scared of the traffic.” Another employee comes in from Tienen by train so he knows the problems commuters face. Switching trains in Brussels, he gets off at Buda Station which is five minutes from his office on foot.

161

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5ECOWORKS

Louis Brentastraat 3, 1800 Vilvoorde

10 years

14 employees

Green designOffice, warehouse

The company got started 10 years ago and has been operating from Buda area ever since. Specialising in eco design, the business moved into this new buil-ding six months ago because they were keen to have more office space. “Now the building is very ugly but we are planning to make some changes, it will be nicer!”. One of te employee explained that they had started to convert the former service area into a showroom space by using glazed panels as facades and by putting in a swimming pond, whilst resorting to a “green wall” to pre-sent the materials, plants and their designs. They felt the outside area next to the entrance and the showroom would be a great place to stage events in the future.He has been with the company for the last 5 years, working on technical as-pects such as price quotes, so he tends to spend most of his time inside the office in front of his computer.Living in Flemish Brabant, he comes into work by motorcycle: “The motorway is always congested. There’s too much traffic, so trying to make it in by car would be hell. And public transport links are very poor.”.He feels Buda used to a good industrial area, but nowadays many companies are shutting up shop or moving away. A lot of warehouses and plots of land have been abandoned and left derelict. “A sure sign that something needs to change” although he can’t put his finger on what exactly would need to change. “It’s very difficult to imagine this place some years from now.”. Asked if building houses could heltp to improve the situation, he was very uncertain and said, “People don’t want live here. It isn’t a good place to live, it’s much polluted due to the factories and the viaduct. Moreover the area is dirty. The municipality should detail more street cleaning teams, especially in smaller streets.”. He thinks that even the shopping mall won’t do much to change the situation.

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7ELIONA


15 years

Green designOffice, warehouse

-----

This is a long-established company that sells and repairs dishwashers and mi-crowave ovens. It has been on this site for 15 years. Right now, they are in the process of renovating the showroom.A young warehouse employee spoke to us. He has been working here for three years. He lives in Schaarbeeklei, a small community where he likes living. “I hate traffic so I never go into Brussels. I spend my days at work, at home or in Vilvoorde, and I’m happy. You will find everything you need in Vilvoorde!”.He travels into work by car. He will head back home for lunch on the odd occa-sion. If not, he will eat lunch at work with his colleagues.“Buda is quite a good industrial area. Of course, things could be better: it‘s very dirty, the streets are full of litter because waste workers rarely set foot here. And also people have got into the bad habit of using a number of abando-ned areas as tips.”.“There is no real need for small shops, cafés or restaurants in the area, as it is home to many big companies that all have their own canteens or cafeteria. Just about every small shop that opened its doors was forced to close down after a while because there weren’t enough customers that came out on their breaks.”. On the other hand, he thinks that a big building, such as a shopping mall, could change the situation and give Buda and Vilvoorde fresh impetus. “It should be here, now there isn’t much life here in Buda.”Moreover, he thinks that that changing this area around is going to be quite a challenge. Many buildings are listed by law, so any attempt at renovation requires due observance of a certain norms and standards. Facades for instan-ce need to be kept as they are, with various other details to be complied with. “Getting some improvements done is all very complicated.”.

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BEL PRO GROUP12


6 years

5 employees

Building materialsShop

9AMBERIGRIS BANDEN CENTRUM

Schaarbeeklei 652 , 1800 Vilvoorde

4 years

5 employees

Car repair centreGarage

Set up four years ago, this business has a 10-year contract in place. The boss says, “We should be here for at least another six years.”. He rents the garage and there are currently 4 other people working for him. The building’s owner is planning to renovate the space and the annexes. The aspect of the area will be different soon.He lives in Brussels and travels into Buda by car every day. They are used to having their lunch in the garage, or they go to the petrol station. “The big problem with Buda is the road traffic: on the road it’s too fast, which results in a lot of accidents. The speed limit should be reduced to 50. This would also help people notice our company and would create a sort of ‘com-mercial strip’. Now it seems as though there is one huge permanent tailback between Schaarbeek and Buda.”. Resigning to the situation, he told us that it’s a dead area, without any activi-ties or facilities. There’s a corner café but they prefer not to go there because it’s closed half the time. “It’s a deprived area.”.

The shop and its warehouse occupy a large plot of land in Buda. The company has been in the same location for 6 years, renting the premises. “Business is good and we don’t have any problems, but I can’t say it’s a beautiful place.”. The person who talked with us lives in Brussels, so Buda is only the place whe-re he works, nothing else. Every morning he arrives by car, eats the lunch he brought in from home at the shop. He doesn’t have any contacts with other people who work in the area. At 6:00 pm he closes up the shop, sets the alarm and goes back home to Brussels. Each day is the same routine. “There’s only one major problem with this area: there are some big factories that are very close to the residential area, so living here isn’t healthy or nice. It would probably be better if these factories moved to another location and if we had some small shops instead of the factories!”.

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ARAMIS CONTAINER19

Digue du Canal 100, 1130 Brussels

15 years

7 employees

Rent container and waste selecting center

18BADR FAROUJ

Harensesteenweg 510, 1800 Vilvoorde

11 years

17 employees

Chicken slaughterhouse

“We have been at this site since 1994. The building is home to the chicken slaughterhouse and our main unit is in Ukkel.”. The company’s customers are from all over Belgium. We spoke with the only woman member of staff who has been working here for 3 years as a veterinarian. In addition, the slaughter-house employs another sixteen employees.Apart from the lady veterinarian, all employees have contact with other wor-kers from the nearby enterprise. Usually, they all have lunch together in the cafeteria on the upper floor.She lives in Merchtem and travels into work by car every day. She definitely doesn’t like the industrial area. In fact, she is disgusted at the place. The first time she went there she thought, “Why do I have to work in this horrible place? It’s grey, very dirty, and a very unsuitable environment, especially for women.”. She also commented that at the time she joined the company, there was a lot of traffic right in front of her office. Since then, the situation seems to have improved somewhat as the road became one-way, but it was still an unpleasant place to work.When asked about her daily routine, she said laughing, “I bring my lunch from home and if I forget it, I don’t eat!”. She never leaves her office. “It’s just an awful place!”.

This business started out in 2000, occupying the building along the Zen-ne where we spoke to the owner. Other than him, there are seven other people that work here. It’s a waste sorting centre, especially for building materials. There’s a canteen inside where they all eat together. The busi-ness is doing well and he is not really interested in what happens in the local area. Other hypothetical commercial activities are of no real concern to the business: “We rent out containers to transport building materials and it’s a sorting centre, that’s all! There is a call for this kind of operati-on, people would come here anyway.”. They work with garbage and their customers go there with big trucks and containers so it doesn’t matter if the area is dirty or if there’s traffic. It’s the right setting for our type of activity.

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TURK FOOD Impex24


1 years

-----

Food wholesalerOffice, warehouse

23CLEANING COMPANY

Harensesteenweg 543, 1800 Vilvoorde

16 years

3 employees

Industrial cleaningOffices

The names of the companies that we could see on this building are all old. Now the building is divided into two parts: the right section is home to a hau-lage company whilst the other section is headquarters to a cleaning company, whose manager boss we interviewed. It’s an industrial cleaning company that operates all across Belgium. She said: “We’re not a very big company but busi-ness is doing well and I’m happy.”. She set up the company 16 years ago and now also owns the left side of the building. She went on to say that this part of the building is just offices. Only 2 people work there, the others always work outside. Living in Brussels, she travels into work by car every day. There is only one bus from Brussels to Buda but it does not serve the area near her house. Moreover the fact that Buda is in the Flemish part of the country means there are some complexities in the way public transport services are organised. She said the fact of operating on the language border is something she experiences in a lot of different ways and she has not failed to notice the problems arising from this situation: “It’s messy! It’s Belgium with its three governments!”.The traffic is the biggest problem, and there aren’t enough car parks. “Now, it is the holidays, so it’s easier to find parking spaces, but usually it’s hell. You can drive around several times before finding a space to park your car.”. Moreover, the area isn’t very safe. “You should come here during the winter or in the evening. I’m scared; sometimes there are mysterious trucks. I put the car inside so I never need to step outdoors.”.About the area’s future: “The shopping mall is a good thing as we could offer our services”, she said laughing. She thinks it could be a good opportunity, if only they would their thinking caps on and properly organise the parking as-pect. If not, the whole area will be worse off than it is now.

Food company Turk Food imports food products. The business was founded in 1998 in Laken. This is the company’s 4th location. After having three locations in Laken they decided to move to Buda less than a year ago. The manager says, “I like this place and business is good, but if the rent goes up, we’ll have to move again.”.He has been with the company for the last 15 years. Living in Brussels, he travels into Buda by car every day, as there’s only one bus from Brussels. “We don’t have any contact with the other businesses around us. It’s not as in a Me-diterranean area!”.He thinks there aren’t any big problems in the area, it’s a normal industrial area and he doesn’t agree with the proposed conversion project for the area: it should remain as it is. We need an industrial area!”.Inside the building, there is a warehouse and an office at the ground floor. There is a main entrance for both of these functions on the main façade where the office is located. The warehouse also has a service entrance around the back of the building. The first floor was renovated and turned into an office which they intend to rent. Plus there is a separate depot inside the warehouse that is used by the City of Brussels to store festival furniture.Regarding to the new shopping mall, he doesn’t really have any particular views: “If they want to build it, I’m fine with it. If not, that’s just as good!”.

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33AMPHION


10 years

-----

Design agency

Hidden behind a grey cube there’s a colourful world where many young peo-ple work. The site is home to three companies: Bananas, Just and Amphion. Amphion is a design agency, Just is a social media and digital agency and Bananas organises events. One of the employees explained: “The company started 10 years ago as one big agency, two years ago it split up into three agencies as a result of the economic crisis, but almost all of the employees are the same. I’ve been working here for 5 years. Now I work for Amphion. Our customers are from Anderlecht, Leuven, Kortrijk. Unfortunately we’ve never worked for any company from Buda.”. He is from Ghent. He goes into work by rail for which he has to take two trains: one from Ghent to Brussels and another one from Brussels to Buda. “There is only one train every hour from Buda, so I sometimes ask my colleagues to give me a lift to Vilvoorde Station which has more frequent rail connections.” “Buda isn’t so funny but I got used to it.”. Most of his colleagues go into work by car. His life is a little different from that of his fellow workers. As he doesn’t have a car, he has to bring in his lunch from home or buy something at the Brussels railway station while he is waiting for the train. Otherwise he has to borrow a colleague’s car or go with someone to buy lunch in Vilvoorde. The employees all sit down to lunch together in the cafeteria on the top floor. “Many small restaurants or cafés opened their doors here, but they all closed because they simply were not getting enough custo-mers in.”. “There are also some good things in this area! One of my old colleagues used to go jogging along the canal during his lunch break. In addition to the poten-tial offered by the canal, we have a big terrace on the top of our office building that offers a spectacular panoramic view!”.“We are trying our best to transform this warehouse into a nice place. So we need to rely on our sense of creativity!”.

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MACADAM41

Schaarbeeklei 613, 1800 Vilvoorde (4th floor)

1 years

-----

Automative marketOffices

39SNG CARS


2 years

5 employees

Car repair center and used car saleGarage, showroom, offices

The company owner explained that SNG CARS sells second-hand cars and spare car parts. Inside the building is a showroom and a garage where cars are taken apart, along with all the other operations: recycling, repairs, servicing and sales of spare care parts. The building is shared with two other businesses: Alcovil and Dromeas, which are located on the upper floors.They have been working in this location for 18 months and have a 27-year commercial contract in place. He explained that commercial premises are leased at 9, 18 or 27 years and tenants have the right to review the decision to rent the building. “Previously, this whole section used to belong to Renault. SNG Cars had paid 1 € as a token payment, courtesy of the government’s plans to support investments at the disused Renault site.”.The company has 5 permanent workers who are joined by temps on occasion. The workers live in Grimbergen, Vilvoorde and Schaarbeek.The business owner travels into work by car, and orders something in for lunch. There is no cafeteria in the building, but there is a space fitted with a micro-wave, a fridge, etc. for the workers. In his opinion, there are no problems with the local council, but sometimes minor organisational problems occur with the furniture company as their trucks usually use the building’s entrance as a ser-vice area, although he went to say they had just managed to find a solution to address that issue.

Macadam was set up in 1993. Initially, providing automotive logistic services such as transport, vehicle storage and short-term rental management, the com-pany changed tack and is now a major player in the automotive market.The company moved into this new location a year ago. Before that, it was lo-cated a little further away, at Schaarbeeklei 525. Now, the Buda site only has offices. It’s a good place to work. One of the employees said: “The office is nice, but that’s not something you could tell from the outside. Also, it’s easy to reach. Of course I would never come here for the entertainment!”. There’s a small kitchen inside the building, so they usually bring in food from home and eat their lunch here. In any case “Vilvoorde is nearby, if we need something we can go there”, he added.

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LUXAUTO43


20 years

8 employees

Car rental

42DROMEAS


<1 years

2 employees

Office fornitureShowroom

The company’s website explains that “Dromeas has a sales network with showrooms in all major Greek cities. It exports its products to many coun-tries around the world. It has a showroom and logistics centre in ‘Brussels’ for its partners and customers in Central Europe, as well as privately owned showrooms and distribution centres in Sofia, Bulgaria and Tirana, Albania for its partners and customers in the Balkan countries.”. It is evident that Buda, where the company is located, is perceived or at least gives its costumers the impression that it is an extension of Brussels, even if it part of Vilvoorde. The manager we spoke to is responsible for Dromeas’s Belgian office, which sells furniture and specialises in office furniture. The Buda showroom opened as recent as two months ago and is run by 2 employees. The company rents the warehouse and transformed it into a modern and elegant showroom. It’s totally new. If fact, they are still getting things fully organised. He feels hopeful about the future. “We decided to open the showroom here because we are con-fident Buda will have a great development, it’s got every change of becoming a big commerce and service area.”. In fact they are renting the showroom on a 12-year lease. He’s confident that the showroom could become a good shop market point. They also rent a part of another building next to Schaarbeeklei, 575 for storing and assembling furniture.He lives in Zaventem and travels into Buda by car. He thinks that the only problem in the area is the lack of parking space: “The road is dangerous and congested with a lot of accidents occurring just as cars drive away from their parking spaces.”.

Luxauto specialises in vehicle rentals. The company runs 21 branches across Belgium, one of which is in Vilvoorde. They have been based in Schaarbeeklei for 20 years, since the company was set up. Currently there are 6 employees, including the owner. One of the employees said: “There aren’t any problems here, I’m a positive person. Business is doing very well, so everything is ok!” There is an car wash facility for their cars in the garage.

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53FLEMISH THEATRE OF BRUSSELS

Emmanuellaan, 1830 Machelen

1 years

4 employees

Workshop of scenic design

From the outside, it looks like an empty warehouse. It’s a building without signs. But once the gate opens, you can see some men who seem engaged in what looks like carpentry. It’s the workshop where the scenic designs area built for the Flemish Theatre in Brussels. They moved into this location one year ago. Before that, they were based in Brussels.“To us, this isn’t a nice place. All it has are big companies and we don’t know anybody. I don’t feel this is the right kind of setting for our line of work. For me personally, working in Brussels was a better set-up all around. But it’s difficult to find a space that is big enough for this kind of workshop.”. Only 4 staff work at this site, who are joined by 2 other people from a different theatre company on occasion. “Some days we also get people round to discuss the technical de-tails of the scenic design with us or to check on the progress we are making.”. He lives in Mechelen, and comes in by train. The railway station is nearby the-re, but there’s only train every hour: “If I miss it, I have a problem. I have to take a train into Vilvoorde and then hop on a bus. It’s do-able but it’s not the best solution!”.“We only knew the company that was based right next to us, but they moved elsewhere a few months ago”

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55HAIRDIS

Emmanuellaan 15,1830 Machelen

<1 years

5 employees

Hairdresser productsWarehouse

Hairdis’s new warehouse sits behind a small door. The business moved into this location just a few weeks ago: a lot remains to be organised. They haven’t met their neighbours yet, nor do they know much about the area. Set up 5 years ago, the company specialises in hairdressing tools. The employee we intervie-wed said: “It’s growing very fast. We went from 3 shops to 10 in 6 months. Our main office is in Waterloo and our shops are scattered all across Belgium: Brus-sels, Waterloo, Antwerp... so we needed a new centrally located warehouse to supply all the shops.”. Buda perfectly fits the description: it’s very well located and there are plenty of empty warehouses to choose from that are enough big for us to rent. Once everything is ready, we’ll have five people working at this warehouse.

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56ADLEY ADHESIVE

Budasteenweg 2A, 1830 Machelen

5 years

11 employees

Manufacture and export of glueOffices, warehouses, workshop

The company specialises in the production and sale of special glue. In addition to the guy we spoke to and his wife, who are the company owners, the busi-ness has a further 9 staff on the payroll. They’ve been in Buda since 2011. “It’s very well located. After all, this is the heart of Europe. We export our products up to 300 km. From where we’re based, we’re able to reach many countries: all of Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands, and France.”.The warehouse which was built in around 2005-2008 is rented. With a touch of regret, he said: “Yes, it looks older. It was built on the cheap, without any architectural concept.”. Inside the building are some offices, the depot, a lab where the glue is tested and workshop where the glue is packed into special containers and prepared for shipment. He is very proud of how they managed to transform the warehouse: “It’s important to be able to work in a nice set-ting, so we tried to create a high-quality work space, even if the exterior is not exactly appealing.”.“This area is one of the oldest industrial areas of Brussels, but now most of industries have left. Only transport and logistics activities remain and there are a lot of abandoned hangars.”.They haven’t had any particular problems since they have been there. “Traffic can be a bit of a hassle. There are a lot trucks, but the road tends to be wor-se than it looks now. The area seems rough, especially at night, when there’s nobody around, but it’s not dangerous. As industrial areas go, it is better than it looks.”.“During the summer, I sometimes take a walk along the canal. It should be used more. It could be a good link between the city and the industrial area.”.Talking about the Uplace Shopping Mall, he’s afraid of increased density of road traffic this will bring once the construction work has been completed. “I know that some industries have already left because they are also worried about the future.”.

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MOBILE TYRES SERVICE73

Dobbelenbergstraat 78, 1130 Brussels

15 employees

Tyres saleGarage

<1 years

61EX-VTRThe concierge sits in a small room on the ground floor of this big building. He lives upstairs and knows most of the business based inside or and around the VTR building. “The only problem here is that lot of these companies are not very visible. There are no signboards and people don’t know how to reach them. For instance, I get a lot of people asking me directions to PARIS XL wa-rehouse. You have to know the area to find it!”. About the area, he commented: “The rent is affordable here. It’s better than the southern section of Brussels, so there aren’t many empty spaces.”. About the functions of the buildings, he added: “VTR was an old leather factory, then it was sold to an estate agency and now it’s been fragmented into many small sections: there’s a logistics company, DHL, Danghter office, HABITAEL, etc. It’s a mess!”.

The company has just opened this new garage in Buda. “The company started 22 years ago in Kampenhout where we still have our main office.”. They have been at this site for just a month. Fifteen staff are employed, most of whom don’t live near the current location. They travel in by car every day. They cho-se this warehouse in Buda because it is well-located in Belgium. The building, which is very new, was built few years ago.“We don’t know much about the area and the neighbourhood because we are new here. In the month we’ve been here, we haven’t had any problems. It’s quiet and there is enough parking space for us and the customers.”.One of the employees, who always brings in a packed lunch from home and eats it at the office, said: “It would be nice to have a local eatery, or at least a place where we could buy food. In other respects, it’s OK.”.

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77PARMA FOOD SA

30 years

4 employees

Italian food wholesalerOffices, warehouse


Set up in 1973, Parma Food is a long-established company, although it chan-ged names several times. Now there are two companies working together: PARMA FOOD, which is a wholesaler of Italian food products, especially wine, and GRANDI CUCINE ITALIANE, which sells kitchen equipment to restaurants. The business owner is an Italian who has been living in Belgium for the past 50 years. “I’ve done well in Belgium, but the crisis has also hit hard here!”.We spoke to a retired man who sometimes calls round to lend a helping hand. “The company has 4 employees at this site, in addition to the owner, but they are all away on holiday at the moment.”.They know Buda quite well as they have been working here for a good few years. It’s a quiet area: only four companies are located here: our company, the garage next to us, the olive’s one in front of us and a function room.”.“This area has a lot of problems. It’s a part of Brussels, but it’s forgotten. Befo-re, people would come out here to buy our products, but now it’s uncomforta-ble for them.”.“The problems are largely to do with the fact that we sit on the borderline of three municipalities. For example, for road maintenance works, the three municipalities never collaborate so it is always a mess and the works take ages sometimes. Some years ago, we were left cut off for 2 years running: one mu-nicipality had started work. When it finished, another local council started other works, and so on. They really need to work together more!”.“For us, having roads blocked or in poor condition is a problem as we use lor-ries, as do many business based here.”.

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THYSSENKRUPP80

Bruulstraat 22, 1130 Brussels

3 employees

Elevator production and distributionWarehouse

4 years

79YENI YASAM DUGUN SALONU

60 years

50 employees

event locationParty and celebrati-on hall


This venue offers function rooms and seminar facilities. Not necessarily the kind of thing one wouldn’t expect in an industrial area!The day before, the venue hosted a wedding party. We spoke to the cleaners who were putting everything in order for the next event. There are 20 perma-nent employees, but on event days their number goes up to 30 with the wai-ters and chefs that come in. They all travel to Buda together from Schaarbeek: the company has a personal driver who drives out to pick them up and take them to Buda. The building is home to two large function rooms and two kitchens. Staff cook lunch and eat on-site. The interior spaces of the building are quite new. We were told that 10 years ago the place held a big depot and just one hall. The new tenant converted the depot into a second function room 5 years ago. They added “We only come here to work. We don’t have any major problems in this area”.

ThyssenKrupp Encasa, an long-established company formerly known as Thys-senKrupp Elevator, is part of publicly listed international steel company Thyssen-Krupp AG with offices around the world. Encase specialises in staircase, home and platform lifts. The main unit is in another part of the city. They moved into the warehouse located at Bruulstraat 3 or 4 years ago. Now in the former locati-on there are only the offices. Three staff work at the Bruulstraat warehouse. One of the employees lives in Antwerp and travels into work by car every day. The daily ride into work takes him approximately 40 minutes. He brings his food and has his lunch on the small desk at the depot. He said it’s a quiet area with not that too much traffic.

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83DEPOT OF BRUSSELS CITY

60 years

50 employees

Storage Building materials depot

Ganzenweidestraat 303, 1130 Brussels

This big space full of everything is the depot of the City of Brussels: there are broken street furniture that needs to be repaired along with new road building equipment and materials. In fact, the warehouse holds just about every buil-ding material the local council and private contractors could ever need.The depot has been at this site for the past decade. The employee we intervie-wed started work here when it opened. He lives near Leuven and travels into Buda by car. “I would come here by public transport if I could, but it would mean leaving the house at 4 in the morning!”. He eats the lunch he brings from home in the office.He added: “It’s a very quiet area. There aren’t any problems. There are few ac-tivities there: our depot, an asphalt factory, and another warehouse, and none of them bothers the others.”.

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87SDLC LA CARAVELLE

Ganzenweidestraat 303, 1130 Brussels

60 years

50 employees

Book wholesalerOffices, warehouse

This big building holds all kinds of books. It’s the headquarters of SDLC LA CARAVELLE,the first independent company to specialise in the distribution of books in the Benelux. Set up in 1951, the company now encompasses various publishing companies. Almost all the companies sell French books, apart from one, called Papyrus. The owner of this shop is a Brit who lives in Machelen. Papyrus set up shop in that building as far back as 1968. All of the Caravelle companies combined employ 50 people, 7 of whom work for Papyrus. “The main benefit of operating out of Buda is our close proximity to the mo-torway, which makes it easy for our lorries to get to other towns and cities. So for practical purposes, it’s strategically located. In other respects, no one in their right mind would ever think of referring to Buda as an area of outstanding beauty!”.There are no facilities: staff bring in their food and eat in the building’s cafete-ria. “Then again, there is nothing in Mechelen either, which is where I live. If we want to go out for a drink or a meal, we have to take the car and drive out to Diegem or Brussels. It’s difficult. When I get visitors over from England, we always have to get the car out.”.Asked about the new shopping mall, he replies: “I think the shopping mall won’t be good for the local Vilvoorde economy. In Vilvoorde, a lot of small retailers have already shut up shop because they are scared of what the future will bring. Moreover, the mall will bring a great deal more road traffic and it’s not clear how they to propose to solve this problem.”.

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FLAVORI90

Budasteenweg 26, 1830 Machelen

21 employees

Spices exportOffices, warehouse

12 years

89DEMO JV

Budasteenweg 20, 1830 Machelen

10 years

21 employees

Demolition workOffices, warehouse

Demo JV was established in 1990 and has been based at this location for 10 years. They specialise in demolition works. “We moved to Buda to facilitate the organisation of our operations. It’s well-located: we are near the city but outsi-de of it and close to the ring road which makes it easy to reach any destination in Belgium. It’s better than the other side of Brussels (the southern section), where there’s too much traffic.”. There are currently 21 people who work here. Most of them travel into work by car, but there’s one worker who comes in by rail. The railway station is nearby.The business owner also owns the building. The only thing he finds bothersome is the local administration: “It takes too long time to get building permits.”. He said: “We know all the neighbours, and we usually work together: they are our customers! The business is thriving here.”Asked about “Uplace”, he replied: “They could be our next customer!”. He thinks it could be the start of a new regeneration for the area: “It will bring in more people.”.

Between grey warehouses, there’s a red building which stands out. It’s the office of Flavori, a company that sells spices to many big companies all around Euro-pe. The business is home to 22 employees.Until 2010, this used to be residential house with a small rubber manufacturing operation. Then the company’s owner bought the place and settled there. “Befo-re that, I was not that far from here, but the building half came under Flanders and half under Brussels, so I was paying tax twice, for two governments.”. The company’s old haunt can still be spotted in the old logo on the wall.They are not so happy where they are now: “It’s well located in Belgium but the businesses in front and next to us produce too much dust. Which doesn’t do businesses like ours that operate in the food industry any favours.” The area is also contaminated as it used to be home to a paint factory some years ago. He wants to move but it’s difficult to find a new place big enough for them. So, for now at least, they are planning to stay there. They have bought the title to all the plots and have decided to expand and renovate the buildings.

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91PRAYON

Dobbelenberg 20, 1130 Haren

20 years

3 employees

Detergent and fertilisers saleWarehouse

Prayon was set up 100 years. “My father worked here when I was a child.”. The company has a long history and went through some difficult times. In fact, it changes its name no less than 3 times. In the early days, it was called Frank & Steinman, which manufactured stoves and metals. Then the company became Zinchgem before it went on to become Prayonas. The manufacturing operati-ons were discontinues around 40 years ago and now they only buy and resell products, especially detergents and soaps.“We are a small part of a big company, we are nothing!”.The company’s headquarters is based just outside of Antwerp. In Buda there is only the warehouse. “It’s a good location for the company, centrally located so it’s easy for us to reach all destinations.”. Three people work here: one is the driver and the other two, whom we spoke to, are the warehouse workers. One of them comes in from Vilvoorde by bike, but the other guy has to drive 35km each day. They bring in their food from home and eat at the office. “It would be good if the roads were repaired, our trucks are taking a battering because of the bad infrastructure.”“In the night it’s not a safe place: we left our truck outside for one night and it had its fuel tank emptied! I don’t want to know what could happen if we left it outside for longer”.“The face of Vilvoorde is drastically changing: 30 years ago it was full of facto-ries, it was a good industrial area; now it is dying.”.

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VANBEVER-HEYMANS TRANSPORT93

Ganzenweidestraat 316, 1130 Brussel

21 employees

Transport parcelsOffices, garage

5 years

92COFELY FABRICOM GDF SVEZ

Rue du Dobbelenberg 8, 1130 Brussels

25 years

-----

Construction of infrastructuresWarehouse, laboratory

CofelyFabricom is a long-established company that not only changed name but also sector of industry. Now it is a leading player on the infrastructure, servi-ces, industry, energy and oil-gas markets. We were not allowed to go inside so an employee came out to speak to us. “In a nutshell, what we do is we help build infrastructure. Plus contractors about to embark on construction projects can purchase the equipment they need from us.”. He said “I’ve worked here for 15 years. I don’t know when the company set up shop here, but it would definitely be more than 15 years ago. More like 20 or 30 even.”.Asked about the benefits and drawbacks of the local area, he said: “The com-pany is well-located in the centre of Belgium. But road traffic is a problem. The motorways are constantly congested and the roads are in a very bad conditi-on.”. He lives in Vilvoorde and doesn’t want the shopping mall: “It’s not good for me, or for the company. It will bring too much traffic for those of us who use lorries as part of our operations.”. As to his daily routine, he always comes into work by car and all employees have lunch on-site.

This haulage company was set up in 1982 and has been based at this site since 2011. It’s a family-run business that owns the building. The boss of the compa-ny let us went into the office. “Basically my parents live on the first floor where-as we use the ground floor as the office area.”. The company has 21 employees, most of whom are out on the road, driving the lorries. The company hauls any-thing to come into Brussels by air that needs to be delivered elsewhere. “The strangest thing we have ever transported were a tiger and a lion! The area’s location is perfect for our line of work: it’s near the airport and at the heart of Europe.”.In her opinion, the area doesn’t pose any major problems and she even des-cribes the living there as good. “Sometimes people will dump their litter on the road, especially bulky items like old TVs or refrigerators. Which is when we call in the local council.”.“All of the surrounding buildings are occupied and the neighbours are friendly. We are friendly with almost all of them because I often use the truck park outsi-de the building and my parents like spend time at the small open area near the truck park, so we can see our neighbours.”.“You might not think it, but there is a beautiful loft in the building next to us and that small house over there is also very nice.”.

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PERFECT NV111

Holstraat 3-5, 1830 Machelen

30 years

25 employees

Industrial washingLaundromat, offices

RADIATOR DESIGNERS 95

Ganzenweidestraat 314, 1130 Brussel

28 years

18 employees

Import and sale radiatorsWarehouse, showroom

The business owner is an Italian, and most of the time Italian is spoken at work. The company was set up in 1987 and has been operating from of the same location throughout. There are two companies: one that imports and sells Italian radiators from 5 different Italian companies, and a second business that is a construction company which specialises in interior outfitting. The owner renovated the upper floor of the warehouse and lives there with his family. As-ked if he likes being there, he answered: “Yes it’s perfect. Of course we always need the car. We have an office, a showroom, a depot and a house all here, in the same building.”.The business is thriving and they are friendly with the neighbours. Now ten people work there. Most of the employees come into work by car or by bus. Bus 64 is the only bus that serves the local area.Additionally, there is a fenced wild green area which is approximately 1,500m², that is surrounded by radiator design companies and other businesses such as Restofrais, GEA Happel, and Van Bever Heymans. It is close to the houses that are located in the industrial area.

Perfect is an industrial washing company. It was started 30 years ago and has been operating from the same site ever since. The company owner also owns the building and of some surrounding buildings. It’s quite a big company, with some 25 employees. Inside the building is a cafeteria, so they all bring in their food and have lunch together. We spoke to an employer who lives in Grimber-gen and has been with the company for 2 years. He travels into work by bike every day and thinks it’s a good place to work.“It’s a normal industrial area, we have no problems”.

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SHURGARD SELF-STORAGE133

Woluwelaan 51, 1830 Machelen

15 years

2 employees

Self storare

132CYLMAINT

Beaulieustraat 4, 1830 Machelen

1 years

17 employees

Manufacter of gas cylindersFactory, offices

We’re not allowed to go inside the factory, but the business owner spoke to us from behind the other side of the fence at the main entrance. “Cylmaint is a mix of two words: Cylinder and Maintenance. We specialise in the sale and maintenance of high-pressure gas cylinders and we also have a “bundle cre-ation” service where gas cylinders are assembled in packages.”. The business serves big multinational corporations. It’s a big company in its own right and business is thriving. Seventeen staff work at the site. They have been based in Buda for the past 3 years, having fully completed their transfer from Antwerp to Machelen just last December.He said: “The area is quiet enough during the day, but the problem starts in the evening: everybody is afraid to be here after 8pm. We have 2 shifts and the workers who finish at 10:00 pm are constantly asking me to re-organise operations so they could knock off at 09:00 pm.”. For this reason he added: “I’m a supporter of shopping mall! Can you imagine what this project could do for this area?” He thinks it will become less dead and therefore safer.

In a funny lighthouse-shaped building in the corner of the industrial estate is a self-storage company. Shurgard has had a local depot in Buda for the past 15 years and business is booming. There’s no shortage of customers that need to be served. Only 2 staff work at the depot, one of whom lives in Vilvoorde and the other in Brussels. The employee who spoke to us travels into work by bus, but she is not happy, especially during the summers, as there is only one bus every hour from Brus-sels to Buda. She complains about the lack of facilities in the area: “If I forget to bring in my lunch, I have to spend my entire lunch break to go into Vilvoor-de on foot to buy something. We need some cafés or fast-food units in this area; yes, that’s what we need! I can’t wait for Uplace. It will be fantastic so I’m excited about it!”.

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141STOROPACK

Nieuwbrugstraat 79, 1830 Machelen

9 years

20 employees

Packaging distribution

Storopack is a very old German company that specialises in packaging distri-bution. The Belgian subsidiary got under way in 2006 and has been operating from the same location ever since. When the business owner decided to roll out activities in Belgium, he bought this plot of land and had this building construc-ted. There are 20 people who work there, some of them are drivers and the others work at the office as customer service agents or administrative clerks. “Buda is very well located for logistical activities, but the road condition is bad for trucks. Sometimes, especially in the morning when there are 5 trucks wai-ting to be loaded, everything vibrates in the office.”. The road infrastructure is not suited to heavy duty industrial operations. It was damaged before we got here, when it had recently been rebuilt. Asked how he feels about the future of the area, he said: “This isn’t exactly a “lovely” environment so, maybe the shopping mall could improve matters.”

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Life in BudaAn Interactive Site Survey

Research conducted on behalf of Jan Zaman and of Ruimte Vlaanderen, Spatial Development Depart-ment Flanders

October, 2015

Elena BorgheseÇiğdem Hacıoğlu

The study was supported by:Ruimte Vlaanderen, Spatial Development Department Flanders

Borghese, E., Hacıoğlu, Ç., 2015. Life in Buda. An Interactive Site Survey. Brussels, Belgium, p.207.

Responsible publisher: Ruimte Vlaanderen, Spatial Development Department Flanders

Koning Albert II-laan 19 bus 12, 1210 [email protected]

Graphic design: Borghese Elena

Photography: Borghese Elena-Hacıoğlu Çiğdem-CASS Summer and Winter Schools 2015

If you are a rights holder and are concerned that you have found meterial on this book which you have not granted permission please contact Ruimte Vlaanderen, Spatial Development Department Flanders.

We would like to thank Ruimte Vlaanderen (Flemish Government Spatial Planning Office) for the in-ternship process and the opportunity to work on Buda.

We would like to express our sincere gratitudes to Jan Zaman for his enthusiasm, knowledge and gui-dance.

Thank you also Wiet Vandaele, Davy Van Swael and Ivan Vyverman for their supports.

This research is the final result of the internships of Elena Borghese and Çiğdem Hacıoğlu. Both the ‘Noordrand’ Territorial Development Program and the research track ‘economic networks’ will benefit largely from their contribution. It gives us a first glance of what really happens in a fascina-ting and a bit derelict industrial estate in the northern part of Brussels Metropolitan Area. However, the pragmatism of the ideas we are developing also needs some sort of economic or commercial dimension that begins to explore the feasibility of taking advantage of the developable areas the analysis is revealing. Some sort of research that begins to demonstrate the economic value that we are potentially unlocking for the city, for the com-munity and other stakeholders could provide some very interesting headline figures and make people pay attention.

Life in Buda - Brussels Metropolitan northern area

Small Business & Entrepreneurship

Transcript of Life in Buda - Brussels Metropolitan northern area