It will no longer be - Laura Collard

The Five Blocks housing estate is located between the Grand Place and the Canal in the centre of Brussels, Belgium.

It will no longer be

March - April 2022

Located between the Grand Place and the Brussels Canal, five constructivist style social housing blocks are a home to up to 800 inhabitants. 800 lives about to be uprooted. At the end of 2023, the five blocks will be torn down and replaced with new housing for a new kind of wealthier inhabitants. Down by the third block, the social cohesion for housing and renovation project (pcs in French) welcomes those who stay, those who leave and the ones that are already gone. They can have a chat there, talk about their daily life, their departure from the neighborhood but also discuss the neighbors, the years of cohabitation, the confirmed prejudices like dealing, violence, poverty and insalubrity, and most of all, the love they share for the neighborhood and how hard it has been to leave it, despite the poor conditions and the insecurity. But some have felt relief being able to move somewhere else. At the end of 2023, all inhabitants will be gone, and with them, the last physical remains of a place that houses their memories.

two brothers moving out of they home. One of them is waving to someone

Jean-Claude is helping his brother Jean-François to move out. They were the first people to move into one of the Five Blocks.

The Five Blocks housing estate was built in 1960 and can accommodate 850 people.

The interior of the apartment of an old building

On the fourth floor of the orange block, through a half-open door, the whisper of a prayer escapes.

Young people are angry about the destruction of their housing estate. Although it is a "shithole", as they call it, they spend their days there hanging out and smoking together.

The Five blocks are in the heart of Brussels, surrounded by uptown areas where lives a majority of wealthy flemish.

The Orange Tower was not originally part of the first phase of demolition. It was added to save time and money.

Ema, a PCS employee.

The PCS, the social cohesion, housing and renovation project, welcomes the residents every day of the week. They organise various activities to bring the residents together and create a happy atmosphere.

"It's ugly and smelly here. In winter it's too cold and in summer too hot. We don't have double glazing. You can hear your neighbours shouting at each other. The lift often breaks down. Sometimes we have to go up eight floors with the groceries. It's a shit hole."

Moussa praying in his flat.

The average rent for social housing is 264€ per month excluding charges.

Othman, a former resident of the orange building.