Brussels is set to launch of its own Belgian version of the Paris Centre Pompidou at the end of 2026, when work on the new museum will be completed, a press release has announced. But before then, impatient visitors can get a sneak preview of progress on Sunday, 25 May 2025, when the construction site opens its doors to the public.
The European capital has been waiting for the Kanal-Centre Pompidou to hit the cultural scene during a years-long transformation process that has taken over a beloved former Citroën garage on the bank of the Charleroi-Brussels Canal.
Now, with 18 months still to go before the grand opening, the Kanal-Centre Pompidou website is urging curious visitors to get a glimpse behind the scenes of the project. “Seize this opportunity to be among the first to discover the museum of tomorrow,” the centre’s website says. The ground floor of the site will be open between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm. Due to the nature of the site, would-be guests are encouraged to wear suitable footwear.
Vast exhibition space, restaurant and rooftop bar
Boasting classic 1930s streamline modern forms, the vast concrete, steel, and glass building was conceived by André Citroën as a “cathedral for cars.” Once the largest garage in Europe, it retains features such as a “stunning” 21-metre-tall showroom described by the project team as “the absolute highlight of the building.”
The new development spans 40 000 m2 of exhibition, installation, performance and venue space, as well as a fifth-floor restaurant, where visitors can enjoy lunch or dinner overlooking the showroom. In addition, a rooftop bar offers “vibes, drinks and panoramic views of Brussels.”
“Cutting-edge”
The new five-storey volume will possess “cutting-edge climate control and acoustics” and is intended will become the “epicentre” of the museum where artworks from Kanal’s own collection, as well as from other collections including those of the original Centre Pompidou in Paris, will be displayed.
In the CIVA wing, architecture, landscaping and urbanism are explored. Here, a library, the research centre with reading room, several study areas, and Kanal’s bookshop will co-exist.
Another new space, will be able to host dance, performance, theatre as well as screenings, talks, concerts and club nights. Multifunctional, with 400 seats and capacity for an unseated audience of 800 promises “thrilling exhibitions and live acts” but there will also be stagings “in surprising places, scattered throughout the building,” the website says.
