Pompidou Moves into a Car Showroom: Kanal–Centre Pompidou Opens in Brussels
In 1934, a 200-metre steel building went up beside the canal in Brussels in just five months.
It was the showroom and service garage of the French carmaker Citroën. The glazed showroom, 21 metres high, was a giant display case for new cars, facing the whole city.
On 28 November, that building reopens as a museum. It is called Kanal–Centre Pompidou, and the opening exhibition alone brings together more than 350 works.
What surprised me most when looking at the plans was how much of the old garage the architects chose to keep.
Europe’s Biggest Museum Project
The Citroën garage stood empty for years. After the Brussels-Capital Region bought it, the region teamed up with the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2017 to launch the museum project.
The international competition the following year drew names such as Zaha Hadid, OMA and Foster + Partners. The winner was Atelier Kanal, a team formed by Belgium’s noAarchitecten, Switzerland’s EM2N and Britain’s Sergison Bates.
The original target opening was 2022. Construction dragged on, and there were fears that budget cuts might halt the project. The total cost is reported at around €230 million.
Showroom, Garage and Square
The building covers around 40,000 square metres. The architects opened the old showroom up to the city as a space anyone can walk into, and turned the vast workshop where cars were repaired into galleries.
It is more than a museum. CIVA, the Brussels architecture centre, moves in too, along with a performance space, a playground and even a bakery. Half of the programme is free.
A Long Journey with 350 Works
Ten exhibitions open at once. The centrepiece is A Truly Immense Journey, with more than 350 works, most from the Centre Pompidou collection, running until January 2028.
The timing is striking. The Centre Pompidou in Paris has closed for several years of major renovation. For now, if you want to see the Pompidou collection in depth, you have to go to Brussels. Works from the Pompidou will be shown here regularly until 2031.
Kanal–Centre Pompidou
- Opening: 28 November 2026
- Address: Square Sainctelette 21, 1000 Brussels
- Building: former Citroën garage (1933–1934), converted by Atelier Kanal (noA, EM2N, Sergison Bates); about 40,000 m²
- Hours: Wednesday–Sunday 11am–7pm, Friday until 10pm
Sources: Centre Pompidou, Kanal Brussels, Belga News Agency, Bauwelt, Building, Artdependence
Photos: Edison McCullen, CC BY-SA 4.0 / Marc-AntoineV, CC BY-SA 4.0 / Miguel Discart from Bruxelles, Belg, CC BY-SA 2.0 / DiscoA340, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)