The "Mirano" discotheque in the chaussée de Louvain in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode will re-open its doors at the end of September following two years of refurbishment work, club manager Tanguy Dimanche and director Behrad Hatefi announced on Tuesday.
The renovation of the protected building had aimed to give the former cinema back the lustre it had in the thirties. Under the new guise, clubbing will stay as a core activity, but the venue would also be open to other cultural events.
New owners the "Art Blanc" group that already includes numerous establishments across Brussels, including the restaurant "Les Brasseries Georges", the discotheque "Spirito" and events hall "Quay 01", purchased the building at the end of June 2017. From the gold/black colour scheme to the choice of materials like travertine (limestone) or the panelling and including the sign's trim and neon lights, everything has been restored back to the way it looked originally in order to preserve the former cinema's charm.
The revolving dance floor has been relieved of its fairground carousel engine in favour of a modernised drive system. Expanded and adorned with a gilt curtain similar to the one that used to unveil the cinema screen, the stage will be welcoming the clubbing public at weekends, but also theatre-goers, contemporary dance spectacles and concerts at other times.
The new lighting system has been the project's greatest challenge because it required the whole roof to be reinforced. The sound system has also been completely redesigned to cater for the various kinds of music and events better.
As regards schedule, the discotheque would be open for at least two evenings a week, with an electro-pop-rock theme on Fridays and an urban theme on Saturdays, each session having a different creative director. Behrad Hatefi also stipulated he wanted "to open up to culture with previews, photo exhibitions, spectacles, etc. The versatility of the space will allow us to extend our range. Art Blanc also does a lot of work in a corporate context."
The Brussels Times
