“We're going down by, down by, the muddy river”

Abstract

This visual essay reports on a collaborative research project on the cellars beneath houses that pixelate much of the Brussels underground landscape. In Saint Antoine, one of the poorest and most densely populated neighbourhoods in Brussels, these cellars are inhabited spaces troubled by the persistent and unwelcome intrusion of water. Challenges include soil dampness, rising groundwater levels, sewer backups, street or garden runoff, and even the passage of an underground stream. Photographs, micro-stories, maps and drawings reveal the geography of this condition, exposing its manifold causes and responsibilities. Addressing this structural problem requires examining the engagement of various human and non-human bodies across different scales: from individual residents managing their own cellars to public structural interventions at regional and interregional levels, passing by the key synergies that can be orchestrated. Meanwhile, residents have embarked on continuous acts of repair, care, and adaptation: labour-intensive, unconventional forms of “building” that enable dwelling in fragility.