Cité- garden in Brussels

The paternity of the concept of Cité-jardin is allotted to the English town planner Ebenezer Howard which publishes in 1898 a work which exposes its vision of a new urbanization.

It is a question of creating in edge of the towns of new cities which would make the transition between city and countryside. These Garden cities were to allow a better contact with nature and between the inhabitants. Planned and managed by cooperative society they represent at the same time a new social and urban design. Adaptations of these ideas were carried out in several countries.

With Brussels, examples of garden cities were born in several communes during the first decades of the 20th century and more particularly in the years which followed the end of the First World War. At that time, the deficit of dwellings important because of the destruction due to the war, is combined with the population growth of the city from the strong attraction which she exerts on the populations of all the areas of the country. Whole districts are built. It is also the beginning of the assumption of responsibility by the public authorities of the construction of social housing. The choice of garden cities is also economic, the construction of groups of houses according to the same plans and with same materials allowing of the economies of scale, and the provision of many residences in little time. The Belgian garden cities, deviate from the idea of Ebenezer Howard which envisaged the construction of whole cities combining habitat and community activity to limit itself to the construction of simple districts of residences. As from the Thirties, the construction of garden cities was gradually given up by the companies of social dwellings, with the profit of that of buildings with apartments.

Cities which remain today, some badly aged, their homogeneity was broken by unhappy transformations. They cause an renewed interest however. Their side “village” corresponds indeed to the aspirations of part of the townsmen who wish a habitat which combines the advantages of the city to the life in the middle of nature and makes it possible to avoid promiscuity while supporting the relations of vicinities.

Today included in the city, they passed from the statute of “ city to the countryside ” to that of “ countryside in the city”.

Watermael-Boitsfort: Garden cities the Home and Floréal

The two garden cities of Watermael-Boitsfort are probably most known and most important from their extent and their quality. Located side by side, it have both summer conceived by the same town planner, Louis Van der Swaelmen for the fitting of the districts and the establishment of the houses and plantation, and by Jean-Jules Eggericx, principal architect of the dwellings for the account of two different company co-operatives. Their creation is inspired by the achievements of English garden cities of style cottage and by the achievements of social cities Dutchwomen. The distinctive marks of the two cities preserved until today, are for the Logis woodworks of green color and streets carrying of the names of animals and for Floréal , of the woodworks painted in yellow and the streets which bear names of flowers. The vegetation holds a big role in the cities and is the principal decorative piece. A labyrinth of ways pedestrians curve between the gardens and carry out in the middle of the small islands to plains of plays sheltered of circulation and planted fruit trees. Lawns, hedges and cherry trees of Japan border the roadway systems. The preference is given to the one-family house, it exists however some buildings with interesting apartments like the " Iron with cheval" of Floréal. The two cities are classified today. They were used as decoration on several occasions for the cinema.

The Home

The creation of the cooperative society of the Home goes back to 1921. It is the fact of a group of employees of the public bank General Caisse of Saving and Retirement , to which employees of other administrations joined. The company became purchaser of 32 ha ground located on the site known as of the Three Limes, a plate between the valleys of Woluwe and Watermaelbeek. The first phase of work, the districts the Trapezoid and the Triangle, took place of 1922 to 1924 (three hundred and fourteen houses). The other districts were carried out in successive phases of 1926 to 1951. On the whole, were built 726 one-family houses, 164 apartments, 9 stores, 3 kindergartens and a social center. , of the Human rights, Solidarity or the Emancipation. A good portion of the houses was sold thereafter to the inhabitants who did not always have the possibility of maintaining them and to adapt them to the current requirements. The transformations did not always respect the character of the city. Currently the Anderlechtois Hearth remains owner of 40% of the residences. Programmes of restoration and sensitizing of the private owners were implemented.

Random links: