Recyclart

Recyclart in Brussels is a 600-person, 212-square-metre concert room inside a former Molenbeek printing works. Its draw lies in the larger arrangement around the stage: an arts centre shares the Manchester Street site with Bar Recyclart and Recyclart Fabrik’s wood and metal workshops. That mix gives a gig the feel of a working cultural campus, with a venue built through adaptive reuse instead of a purpose-built black box.

A Station Project Rebuilt in Molenbeek

Recyclart was created in 2000 and first occupied the disused Brussels-Chapelle station beneath the North–South rail link. At that site, the buffet served as a restaurant, the ticket hall became a concert hall, and small units under the tracks became social workshops. The choice of an underused station placed cultural programming, food and vocational activity in one improvised infrastructure.

February 2018 brought the break: rail-safety requirements ended its occupation of Chapelle, after a long period of protests and negotiations. The Brussels Region then acquired a vacant Manchester Street printing works, and Recyclart relocated to Molenbeek later that year. Ouest Architecture’s 2019 conversion fitted the 4,000-square-metre industrial site around the restaurant and kitchen, concert room and offices, giving the project a rapid physical restart.

The Room and Its Programme

Concerts sit inside a deliberately wide programme of adventurous music, graphic design, visual and audiovisual art, hybrid performance and urbanism projects. Expect electronic sets, club-oriented bills and experimental live music alongside mixed-format nights. For artists and promoters, Recyclart takes proposals by email and considers coproductions when a project fits its programme; it runs roughly three activities each week, so lead times run about four months for concert evenings and nine for late-night events. The 212-square-metre hall has sound and lighting installed, while the on-site bar gives the room an easy pre-show anchor.