Description
This group of houses was one of the first social-housing projects in Brussels. It was built by the Société anonyme des Habitations ouvrières dans l’Agglomération bruxelloise (SAHAB). The houses are arranged on either side of the Rue de Dilbeek, and are supplemented by a building used as a stable and workshop shared by all the inhabitants. The estate consists of eleven houses (44 dwellings) and was inspired by the carrés mulhousiens designed by Emile Muller and presented at the 1855 London Universal Exhibition. Every house is divided into four dwellings, each with a private garden. This grouping of four dwellings under the same roof allows for valuable savings in terms of masonry, roof, cisterns, and sewerage provision. The dwellings are accessed by paved footpaths through the gardens. The layout is very efficient, featuring a steep staircase along the party wall and one or two rooms per floor. Outside toilets are found in an exterior extension. The façades are made of brick, now painted yellow. They are embellished with blue-limestone sills, and wooden shutters for the ground-floor windows. The roofs are covered with tiles. The SAHAB had built a similar complex, the Cité de Linthout, in Woluwe (1869).
Facade with front garden
Exterior view with neighbouring houses
Street view
Originally published in: Gérald Ledent, Alessandro Porotto, Brussels Housing. Atlas of Residential Building Types, Birkhäuser, 2023.