The Porre

In 1895, Ernest De Porre en Zonen n.v. established a steam weaving mill on Jules de Saint Genoisstraat. Later, in 1927, a spinning mill was added. At that time, about 300 workers were employed. The factory was severely damaged during World War II. It was rebuilt and production was restarted.

This nevertheless flourishing company, a supplier mainly of household linen known by the brand name DéPé, and which also added a clothing workshop (near Peter Benoitlaan) from 1963, ceased to exist in 1982, after the spinning mill had already been shut down in 1976.

This steam turbine installation included a cooling system, of which the concrete cooling tower that still dominates the surroundings today is the most important component. This remarkable structure, which had a wooden predecessor that was demolished around 1967, is a rare example in Flanders (especially in this form) of the application of the prefabricated reinforced concrete system "Monnoyer".

The concrete cooling tower (''refrigérant'') of De Porre dates from 1942. Since 1982, all activity at the company has ceased, and the land has been acquired by the city, which currently uses or allows it to be used as a storage site. The technical installation of the company has largely disappeared. The boiler house and the chimney were demolished by the City of Ghent itself in the late 1980s. On this abandoned factory site ''De Porre'' in Gentbrugge, the construction of around seventy homes and a multipurpose community space, with an integrated clubhouse, and a daycare center connecting to the gym, is planned. These are mainly owner-occupied homes in the private sector that must meet the housing needs of the target group "families with children."

Dromos