Description
This workers’ housing estate was built on the site of two former workers’ housing cul-de-sacs, the impasses Dever and Gossey, which were destroyed in 1900. The project is organised around a 10 m by 40 m courtyard bordered by two buildings on the street side and one inside the block. This courtyard originally accommodated a large circular basin with a water fountain. The five-storey-high buildings consist of a single floor plan repeated several times on each floor: a central staircase that serves two apartments on either side. Each dwelling consists of three identical 14 m² rooms and a kitchen. An outdoor toilet is located on the terrace overlooking the courtyard. On the street side, the ground-floor units are different as they accommodate four commercial spaces linked to the dwellings. In the rear building, each ground-floor apartment has a small private courtyard. The façades are made of red brick, enhanced with sgraffito, blue and white stone, and rubble for the base. The flat roofs were originally bordered by a wrought-iron railing with latticework. The rounded courtyard balconies are fitted with wrought-iron railings. On the street front, the staircases feature three-storey-high avantcorps, windows with colonnettes, and sgraffito.
Exterior view
Facade view
Originally published in: Gérald Ledent, Alessandro Porotto, Brussels Housing. Atlas of Residential Building Types, Birkhäuser, 2023.