No longer say Chinese Pavilion, but Palace of the Silk Road: this is the wish expressed Tuesday by Diane Hennebert, one of the leaders of the non-profit organization set up to restore and exploit the building created at the initiative of the king Leopold II and inaugurated in 1913 in Laeken.
Like the Japanese Tower, the Chinese Pavilion was closed a hundred years later in 2013 due to stability and security concerns.
In summary: the facades and in particular the one parallel to Avenue Van Praet, which are not integrated into the structure of the building, tend to move, due, among other things, to the weight of the wooden elements which constitute the terraces.
Since then, the building has, moreover, suffered water infiltration. These have since been brought under control, but this does not prevent a slow process of deterioration linked to vacancy.
Shortly before the elections, the federal government therefore gave the green light to the establishment of a non-profit organization bringing together the Régie des Bâtiments, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the private sector which will put its hand in the portfolio in the form of patronage. The work is estimated at around 6 million euros.
The new use of the Chinese Pavilion will be based on the general theme of the Silk Roads which have marked exchanges between the East and the West since Antiquity. The monument’s influences are not exclusively Chinese. There are some of Japanese and Khmer inspiration.
Concretely, there should be public cultural and tourist activities during the day, but also diplomatic objectives and friendly relations between Belgian and Asian companies.
The pavilion annex could become a meeting place and exclusive events (conferences, meetings, dinners, cocktails, etc.) dedicated to Belgian-Chinese and Asian relations.
According to Diane Hennebert, known in particular for having directed the Wallonia-Brussels center in Paris, having directed the Atomium at the time of its restoration, but also overseeing that of the Villa Empain, “it is not too late, but it is time”.
During a visit to the site in the presence of the Secretary of State for the Régie des Bâtiments Mathieu Michel, Diane Hennebert shared her “dream”: a redevelopment by the end of 2027, at occasion of 80 years of diplomatic relations between Belgium and China.
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