After the TRACER Final Conference on 21 September, around 25 TRACER partners and participants from across Europe have joined a study visit to the historic site of the Brussels Abattoir market and slaughterhouse that is undergoing a full renovation (see provisional project). A group of private actors with support from the Anderlecht municipality, the Brussels region and European funds are renovating the site near the city center. The project builds on the principles of reducing energy consumption, taping on renewable energy sources and integrating circular approaches to reduce waste, thereby producing high-quality sustainable food in an urban setting.
ABATTOIR S.A., the company in charge of managing the 12-hectare site, guided a walking tour of the market area. This was followed by a presentation of the ongoing long-term plan to renovate and modernize the site, while at the same time maintaining the patrimony and keeping the original function of the market place.
Skysun, a company that installs photovoltaic panels across Europe, presented the challenges and benefits of having installed 5808 solar panels on the iconic 19th century roof of the Abattoirs (see information and video of the project here).
Then participants joined a guided tour of the BIGH – Brussels Aquaponic Farm that has over 2000m2 of horticultural and fish farming greenhouses. The visit ended with a tasting of the farm’s produce: trout and tomatoes.
Pictures of the visit:
Picture 1: Roof of the historic market with Skysun’s panels (source: Skysun)
Picture 2: solar panels on the roof of Foodmet and in the back the roof of the historic market (Source: TRACER visit)
Picture 3: Presentations held in the premises of BIGH (Source: TRACER visit)
Picture 4: BIGH urban farm, with greenhouses and aquaculture in the background (Source: TRACER visit)