Renovation project “Passage Du Nord”

16/09/2024

As part of ‘Brussels Design September 2024′

If you are not familiar with this name yet and you are interested in design, make a note in your notebook – Lionel Jadot is in 1st place in the ”Belgian design’ section. In 2024 he was recognised as ‘designer of the year’ in the Hospitality section at the prestigious ‘Maison&Objet’ in Paris. Every year, he fires off a project that strikes with an idea and scope. Founder of Zaventem Atelier (a huge co-working space for designers – over 20 workshops from blacksmithing to weaving, in a former paper factory, near Brussels airport). A must-see. Last year, almost every one of these workshops contributed to the renovation of the MIX Hotel, which became a showroom of their capabilities, a hotel of the past and the future in one.


At the Brussels Design September festival in 2024 Lionel presented a new project, Passage Du Nord, this time a co-working space and co-living centre. Cohub (from English ‘cohabitation’) is active in Brussels – more than 50 houses for ‘cohabitation’, which is popular in the youth subculture. Renting flats in the 21st century has become so expensive in Europe that different types of cohabitation are developing with cosmic rapidity.
You have often passed by this mini Passage doing your shopping on rue Neufe without noticing it. The second entrance is at Place de Brouckère. This was once a theatre with dressing and costume rooms, and in the early 20th century its rooms were used by the staff of the Hotel Metropole. Lionel has kept the exterior of Passage Du Nord a la the 19th century, bourgeois – only the giant baby ‘putti’ in its aisle seems to mock the bourgeoisness of the passages as a form of elite shopping. Cohub’s interior is super modern, with an inherent industrial vintage touch to Lionel Jadot’s style. Recognisable to all fans of his work (myself included). Always in rough boots, the designer exudes testosterone, which is reflected in his designs. But let me emphasise – all his designs are a collective creation. He is just a leader showing the way.


Lionel Jadot likes to say he’s self-taught. But as a 6th generation furniture maker, he grew up in his father’s workshop and furniture design, along with furniture varnish and shavings, is certainly embedded in his DNA.


What’s available at Cohub ‘Passage Du Nord’? 60 fully furnished bedrooms (most with en-suite bathrooms) spread over 4 blocks. On the 4th floor, there is a magnificent rooftop with a beautiful view of the Brussels cityscape. A cosy cinema room perfect for watching films, a spacious gym, a quiet co-working space and even a bike storage room!

Alain Sechas – God father of the Cats

He is as long-legged and elongated, elegant and charming as his famous cats. Like Flaubert's ‘Mrs Bovary is Me’. French artist and cartoonist Alain Séchas is presenting at one of my favourite museums in Belgium, BPS22 in Charleroi (a museum named after its own...

Cindy Sherman’s exhibition ‘Anti-Fashion’ in FoMu Antwerpen

https://youtu.be/2440vh0fby8 Opening weekend (28-29 September 2024) at the Fotomuseum Antwerp is dedicated to Cindy Sherman's exhibition 'Anti-Fashion'. Exhibition curator Rein Deslé insists that the American legend is not a photographer, but a contemporary artist...

James Ensor in Antwerpen – project presentation in City Hall

On 28 September, Antwerp received the Ensorian torch from Ostend. The city on the Scheldt pays tribute to the Belgian artist James Ensor with four diverse, world-class exhibitions. They comprehensively show how the artist continues to inspire contemporary...

Gent Film Fest programme presentation

Cinephiles like me, take note! The 51st Gent Film Fest (9-20 October 2024) announced its programme in the arthouse cinema Sphinks (by the way, it was opened in 1912 and originally called ‘Cinéma Scala’, only in the 1930s it got its current name and became the centre...

‘Droomtuin’

The fashion for spending time on a rooftop is spreading across Europe and Antwerp is no exception. From 20 to 22 September, the city on the Schelde will host DAKkanfest. A play on the word ‘dak’ (roof) and the modal verb of open possibilities. In addition to the usual...

Czech project “Designblok Cosmos” in Brussels

As part of Brussels Design September 2024. The term ‘Czech glass’ resonates to my generation with the sound of crystal, popular in wealthy families. I once won a chocolate-coloured vase with gold veins at the amusement park (I was unreasonably lucky in my youth, even...