No permit issued for STIB, which wanted to install a giant harmonica on the Boulevard du Midi! 725 kilos (including 325 for the supporting structure), completely in stainless steel, seven meters high and created by the artist Alain de Pierpont: this work of art was to be hung on the facade of number 63 on the Boulevard du Midi, there where the Brussels public transport company plans to develop one of the five entrances to the future Toots Thielemans metro station. An exceptional achievement as a tribute to the Brussels artist with an immense career, now deceased, and whose centenary we are celebrating this year.
Major risk to pedestrian safety
But for the City of Brussels as for the Brussels Region, it will be no! The decision was notified a few days ago. Why this refusal? First, for security reasons. “The anchors risk severely damaging the facing stones“, can we read in the conclusions of the consultation commission, and “that these are already worn and damaged.” Otherwise, “in the event of a fall of the object, the concrete canopy does not seem strong enough to support such a weight“. So there exists “a major risk for the safety of both the building and the users on the public highway.“
Moreover, as expressed in an opinion by the Royal Commission on Monuments and Sites, “the work of art has a significant visual impact in its urban environment. […] The latter is already very cluttered visually speaking. […] This work is disproportionate to the classic street signs and to the building.“The harmonica also risks disturbing the perspectives towards the listed buildings in the surroundings.
Too high, too far from the facade: the work does not respect the limits in terms of dimensions authorized by the regional planning regulations.
Front hanging was just one of the options
Disappointment, in the end, for the artist Alain de Pierpont who says he hopes that like every artist, his work can one day be exhibited. Disappointment also for the STIB, carrier of the project. However, “from the start, the work was designed to be either hung on the facade or placed on the ground“, explains Cindy Arents, spokesperson for the STIB. “Hanging on the facade was only one of the possible options for installing this work.” The permit refused, the STIB will now study other formulas.
For the association of Stalingrad-Lemonnier (Stalem) merchants, no disappointment but the feeling of not having agreed on the choice of the work.
In Brussels, we are not in Las Vegas
“Urban planning law is very strict with regard to this type of work“, recalls Nour Eddine Layachi, president of the association, not very warm when it comes to this work. “In Brussels, we are not in Las Vegas. And that’s good. There has been no information concerning a consultation regarding this work. As part of the metro project and the redevelopment of the avenue de Stalingrad, there is a pact for the realization of a major artistic work in the district, which will become the beacon of this district. We would like the STIB or the Brussels Region to be able to complete a project of this magnitude. But we still want to be around the table if possible.”
For the association, the work of art must see the light of day in the center of the avenue de Stalingrad, opposite the Palais du Midi.
Remember that an artistic creation, Passionflowerat the end of the avenue, was dismantled during the metro works.