Rug restoration in Antwerp (centre)

The building stock

Zurenborg, straddling Antwerp and Berchem, was built between 1894 and 1906, at the height of Art Nouveau: Cogels-Osylei, Transvaalstraat and Waterloostraat form its core, with a mixture of Art Nouveau, neoclassical town houses, neo-Gothic, neo-Renaissance, neo-Greek and Tudor cottage. Many of the houses are listed. At the other extreme, on the Eilandje, the Montevideo pakhuizen were built in 1897 to the city's order by the municipal engineer Frans De Winter, in twelve months and for 331,000 francs, first for storing hides, then occupied from the 1950s by the British army — before their current conversion to housing.

The building stock dictates the wear: a rug laid in the corridor of a Brussels house does not wear like one in the living room of a villa. The selvedges go first where people walk.

Collection

Antwerp has had a low-emission zone since 1 February 2017. It covers the city inside the R1 ring road plus the Linkeroever; the R1 itself, the port and a few access roads are excluded. The tightening planned for 1 January 2026 has been dropped: Euro 5 diesel and Euro 2 petrol remain admitted in 2026. Foreign plates must be registered beforehand (or on the day itself, within 24 hours); fines run from €150 to €350. Since 1 August 2023, on-street parking in the historic core has been reserved for residents and permit holders: loading and unloading remains free, a "parkeervergunning voor ondernemingen" can be obtained online, and the maximum height of covered car parks has to be checked before taking a van in.

We take the rug away to the workshop: restoration is not done in your home. Access therefore governs the date, not the quote.

Damp and water

The Scheldt is a tidal river and Antwerp is directly exposed to it. The Scheldekaaien project (2005-2030) is stabilising and raising more than 7 km of quays, from the Droogdokkeneiland in the north to Blue Gate in the south: the dyke rises to +9.25 m TAW in zones 1 and 2 of Blue Gate, 75 cm more than the current +8.50 m and about 90 cm more than the 1976 structure. The quay walls have been sliding towards the Scheldt since 1883, under the effect of the underlying clay and the pressure of the water table.

Damp is the leading cause of heavy restoration: it attacks the back, makes the backing adhesives give way and prepares the ground for moths.