Forest : l'Union fait l'Art Déco

The Union district in Forest, located between Duden Park and Midi Station, was largely built during the Interwar period. Art Déco is omnipresent there and manifests itself in the most diverse typologies. Thus, alongside stately single-family homes and the first apartment buildings, large school complexes and a communal swimming pool emerged, while the proximity to Midi Station pushed many factories to settle in the neighborhood. In addition to the Wielemans-Ceuppens breweries, which equipped themselves with a daring factory designed by the architect Adrien Blomme in 1930, François De Meulecom designed the Frans and Sons shoe factory in 1929, which has now been converted into housing. Le Fabriquant of art ironwork François Alexandre, an artisan awarded at Exposition de Paris in 1925, also did not hesitate to build his workshop on Avenue Van Volxem. Finally, proof of the significant development of leisure at that time, Stade Joseph Mariën was established at the bottom of Duden Park in 1926. With its bas-reliefs representing sporting scenes, it is one of the last Art Déco football stadiums still standing in Belgium. This visit will be an opportunity to discover this Art Déco heritage, as rich as it is unusual, and to discuss the issue of industry in the city, two flagship subjects of the year 2025 for ARAU.