Good afternoon. It’s Katie Westwood back in the saddle today.
Britain's King Charles III once artfully described the extension of London's National Gallery as a "monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend". The phrase inspired a Scottish magazine to create the Carbuncle Awards, which put the spotlight on the country's ugliest buildings and developments.
Like the Bad Sex Award (for badly written sex scenes) and the Raspberry Award (for terrible acting), the Carbuncle Award (and its heir, the Carbuncle Cup) might be seen as mean-spirited to the poor creatives who are on the receiving end of such ignominy.
But a smattering of public shaming might be just the ticket for those responsible for Brussels' latest carbuncle: the revamped Schuman Square roundabout.
The original plans sounded so promising, with a swish-looking canopy serving as a magnificent centrepiece for the project, providing welcome shade on hot days. But cost overruns and budgetary issues killed the canopy, leaving us with what some wags on social media dubbed a "frying pan" in the middle of the EU quarter.
This week, reporter Anas El Baye interviewed Francis De Wolf, the architect in charge of leading the project. De Wolf spoke in remarkably frank terms about his deep disappointment with the way things have turned out.
He fears Schuman Square "will be used as a symbol for the failure of the city, the failure of the nation and, to a certain point, the failure of Europe". Strong words indeed. Read the full piece here.
On the day the Brussels Government is reintroducing fines to enforce compliance with the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) in Brussels, Maïthé Chini looks at support for the scheme among local residents of the LEZ. Find out the results of a recent LEZ survey here.
Today’s reintroduction of LEZ fines is just the tip of the administrative iceberg – part of a raft of new measures coming into force today in Belgium. To help you cut to the chase, Maïthé has written a mammoth guide on what changes this month. Read it and weep.
Just as you were making use of that delightful light summer jacket, it might be time to cast it aside again in favour of an ice-cube lined bikini. Temperatures will climb once again next week, with some forecasters saying we could once again see temperatures of 30+ degrees on some days. Might this be the start of another dreaded heatwave? I hope not!
As always, if you have any comments, tips or suggestions, you can find me at k.westwood@brusselstimes.com.
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Bye for now!
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1. ‘Uninhabitable’ Schuman Square will be ‘a symbol for the failure of the city’, says architect
Criticism of the square's renovation project intensified during the recent heatwave, when commenters on social media compared the expanse of paving to a frying pan. Read more.
2. Higher fines, expensive packages, losing benefits: What changes in Belgium on 1 July?
From the end of buying tickets on board trains, to more jobseekers losing benefits and much more, you can find the latest measures here. Read more.
3. ‘Loud minority’: Most Brussels residents support Low Emission Zone, survey shows
"There is a difference between what the majority of the population thinks and what a small minority of the population shouts about very loudly." Read more.
4. Several dead in Antwerp tower block fire, police confirm
The police confirmed that several people died but are not yet willing to give exact figures. Read more.
5. Will there be another heatwave in Belgium next week?
Just as we were starting to recover from this month's marathon heatwave, it seems another period of extreme heat might be on the horizon for Belgium. Read more.
6. Record number of EU citizens left Belgium in 2024
"The dynamics are variable and difficult to predict because they are also linked to the initial reasons why these groups came here." Read more.
7. What to expect from Belgium-Senegal’s World Cup showdown tonight
Belgium face Senegal in their first knockout tie on Wednesday at 22:00, with the Red Devils hoping to build on Sunday's emphatic 5-1 win. Read more.
