Behind the scenes. Demolition of a warehouse to construct the Flemish Theatre (KVS) in Brussels.

Despite evidence suggesting that material salvage was a common practice in the nineteenth century, its impact on the material market and waste reduction in construction remains largely unexplored. Since material salvage was often carried out by demolition contractors who left few records in the public archives, there is a gap in our understanding of this process. To address this issue, this poster investigates the demolition of a public warehouse in 1884 to construct the Flemish Theatre (KVS) in Brussels. This demolition was exceptionally not part of a public tendering process but was instead coordinated by the Brussels city administration, resulting in a rich documentation in the city archives.

Analysis of correspondence between the city engineer and other parties involved, as well as documentation of material sales, confirmed that the salvage of building materials was a prime point of attention in the late nineteenth century. This is hardly surprising considering the project's financial records, because even though the labour-intensive demolition required many different workers, the sale of salvaged materials easily offset the labour costs. Moreover, the price for old materials was significantly lower than for new materials, which made second-hand purchase attractive to individuals, traders and public services looking to save money. Nevertheless, for the construction of the new state-of-the-art Flemish Theatre mainly new materials and building techniques were used: the on-site reuse was limited, the most conspicuous being the reconstruction of the front façade of the warehouse, using the original materials. Today this façade remains a physical reminder of the warehouse in its form and materials. It is challenging to trace the off-site reuse of the warehouse's materials as substitutes for new ones in different parts of the city. Yet, the fact that most of the materials were sold, indicates the presence of flourishing reuse networks in late nineteenth-century Brussels.