Description

A few years after completing the Grand Hospice, Henri Partoes supplemented it with a classical housing composition. The orthogonal grid that governs the Grand Hospice seems to continue outside its walls to generate this ensemble. It is designed as a double L-shape plan with symmetry, around the Rue de l’Infirmerie. Externally, the individual buildings disappear behind the sober and regular facade of two classical palaces. The facades are white and only a few bands, balconies, and relieving arches liven up their mouldings. Behind these regular facades, different types of three-storey-high houses can be found. The standard house replicates the plan of the maison à loyer illustrated in Durand’s Précis (Vol. 2, pl. 25). The houses are organised in two longitudinal bays. The first bay contains the circulation areas with the vestibule, a winding staircase, and access to the garden. The second is occupied by rooms of equivalent size (5 m by 4/4.5 m) arranged in a row. The ground floor is raised about 60 cm above street level, allowing some natural light into the cellars. In the garden is a latrine but no fountain, which can be explained by the presence of a public fountain in the square bordering the Grand Hospice.

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Originally published in: Gérald Ledent, Alessandro Porotto, Brussels Housing. Atlas of Residential Building Types, Birkhäuser, 2023.