Marnix Street is a cul-de-sac with worn pavements, running parallel to a railway line and encircling a vast industrial area on the banks of the Meuse. It is lined with dilapidated miners’ cottages and abandoned warehouses, and its skyline is marred by gas pipelines and high-voltage power lines. It is here that some sex workers, having been driven out of Liège city centre, have found premises with affordable rents. In 2008, following the well-established patterns of urban centre gentrification, a decision by the municipal council aimed to close the brothels in the Cathédrale Nord district of Liège, pushing sex workers out of the city centre towards the outskirts, and in particular to Seraing.

The specifications were therefore drawn up by the municipality of Seraing based on the analyses and recommendations of the ‘Women and the City’ municipal commission of the City of Liège. The scheme comprises ‘motel’-style single rooms, a few spaces dedicated to site management, a neighbourhood police station, two separate car parks – one for clients and one for sex workers – and a number of residential units. Despite administrative red tape, political difficulties and other missteps, it would appear that the winning design, by Jourdain Architectes Associés (j2a), is set to be realised in the coming years.