We Love Brussels
  • Urban Life
    • Urban Jungle
    • Photo Stories
    • But Why?
    • Smart City
    • City Branding
    • Seniors
    • Real Estate
  • Culture & Creativity
    • New Economy
    • Local Makers & Shakers
    • Illustrations
    • Fashion City
  • Discover & Meet
    • Travel & Tourism news
    • Foodie guide
  • Event Diary
  • Europolitan Trends
Brussels Inspiration Bureau
Social Links
Instagram 56K Followers
Facebook 57K Followers
Twitter 10K Followers
  • Our Story
  • Partnerships & Collaborations
  • Contact
56K
57K
10K
We Love Brussels
We Love Brussels
  • Urban Life
    • Urban Jungle
    • Photo Stories
    • But Why?
    • Smart City
    • City Branding
    • Seniors
    • Real Estate
  • Culture & Creativity
    • New Economy
    • Local Makers & Shakers
    • Illustrations
    • Fashion City
  • Discover & Meet
    • Travel & Tourism news
    • Foodie guide
  • Event Diary
  • Europolitan Trends
  • Community news
  • Building the platform
  • Community of city admirers
  • Partnerships & Collaborations
  • Get in Touch
Become our contributor. Join the team!

Sign up for our newsletter

Get our periodical updates. Zero spam.

  • archi & urban heritage

Urban history: Saint-Géry residence becomes Brussels heritage

  • Editorial Team
  • February 23, 2023
  • 2 minute read

The Brussels government has approved the proposal to protect the prominent Saint-Géry residence, designed by architect Paul-Amaury Michel. Paul-Amaury Michel is one of the most important representatives of Belgian’s modernist movement.

The Saint-Géry residence, designed in 1955 and finished in 1958, is an exceptional witness to 1950s Brussels modernist architecture. ​At that time, after many difficult years, there was a lot of optimism in the city, which was expressed by cheerful, colourful architecture. Brussels was preparing for Expo 58 and wanted to show itself internationally as a city with a modern image. The Saint-Géry residence is a perfect example of this new architectural era, which lasted into the 1960s.

This seven floor building offers commercial space on the ground floor and three housing units per floor. Its facades are remarkably dynamic. It is a corner building with a large profile at the intersection of Pont de la Carpe and Rue Van Artevelde, between Rue Antoine Dansaert and the ​ Halles Saint-Géry, and has evolved into a real visual and urban landmark for the neighbourhood due to its location.

State Secretary for Urbanism and Heritage Pascal Smet expressed his belief that Brussels needs to protect post-war buildings and to avoid mistakes of the past, when many interesting Brussels buildings were demolished.

“Brussels’ great variety and our rich history is also reflected in our architecture. Starting from the Romanesque period, around 1200, you can find interesting examples of almost every major architectural period in Brussels. For example, Brussels is also home to numerous modernist buildings. In the past, the quality of architecture was not always appreciated. Magnificent buildings disappeared or were mutilated by personal choices that were specific to certain time periods. We definitely want to avoid such arbitrary decisions in the future by protecting our architectural gems from all eras.”

Brussels State Secretary for Urbanism and Heritage, Pascal Smet.

The architect, Paul-Amaury Michel

Paul-Amaury Michel was born in Brussels in 1912 and died in our city, in 1988. Michel studied at La Cambre, where he was a pupil of Eggericx. After his studies, he got in touch with the architects Le Corbusier, Robert Mallet-Stevens and Pierre Chareau, among others, who would influence his work. Paul-Amaury Michel evolved into an important personality of Brussels’ modernist architecture.

He first specialised in designing small apartment buildings. His first design, the “Glass House” in Uccle (protected since 1998) is a well-known example. Other well-known designs are the apartment building at 92 Avenue de l’Université (1937) in Ixelles and Résidence Clarté (1938) at 292 Avenue Molière.

From 1950, he mainly focused on the construction of pavilions and exhibition stands representing Belgium at various international fairs (Milan, Berlin, Budapest, Beijing, etc.).

More info & photos

Total
0
Shares
Like 0
Tweet 0
Share 0
Share 0
Like 0
Share 0
Editorial Team

WeLoveBrussels is a digital platform focusing on the city life, culture, creativity, events, amazing places, lifestyle, urban development trends and simple beauty around us.

You May Also Like
View Post
  • archi & urban heritage

Brussels Region grants building permit for renovation of the Ancienne Belgique

  • Editorial Team
  • March 9, 2023
View Post
  • archi & urban heritage
  • real estate

Urban redevelopment: Boulevard Auguste Reyers

  • Editorial Team
  • March 6, 2023
View Post
  • archi & urban heritage
  • Events diary

7th BANAD Brussels Art Nouveau and Deco Festival is back in Town!

  • Dorka Demeter
  • February 1, 2023
Brussels Inspiration Bureau

Exploring the best of Brussels since 2014.

Discover more!
Our columnists & bloggers:
Aleksandra Rowicka
Addicted to cultural life of Brussels, fashion photography and dark…
Aris Setya
Indonesian living in Brussels. Passionate about photography. Love…
Boro Milovic
Boro is the founder and editor-in-chief of WeLoveBrussels. His interests…
Dorka Demeter
Dorka is a Hungarian expat living in Brussels for 10 years. Admirer of…
Emilia Valbum
Expat from Copenhagen living in Brussels. EU + global politics nerd on…
Fadi Dalati
A urologist by profession, and a photographer by passion. I try to…
Julia Zelle
Half-Italian, half-German girl who has just moved to Bruxelles.…
Karolina
Karolina is a blogger sharing stories on European cities, local…
kateinbrussels
I am Kate. I've lived in Brussels for 16 years and am still discovering…
Meredith @ellesbxl
Meredith Geldof is a Flemish girl who moved to Brussels and enjoys…
Tireless_Traveler
Nath is born and raised in Brussels but with a serious case of…
Download our free guide!
Incentives & events in Brussels:
Incentives & events in Brussels:
Missed our printed edition?
Press Club Brussels Europe
As seen in
25 most popular instagram accounts in Belgium

Views & opinions expressed across this website are solely that of the authors and contributors themselves and may not reflect the position of WeLoveBrussels. The editorial or publisher of WeLoveBrussels cannot be held responsible for expressed opinions or unintended errors and oversights if any.

Get our periodical updates. Zero spam.

Instagram 56K Followers
Facebook 57K Followers
Twitter 10K Followers
WeLoveBrussels
  • Our story & more
  • Get in Touch
  • Privacy Policy
  • Legal notice
Brussels Inspiration Bureau. Your guide to city life, culture, business, travel, Brussels events agenda & cultural diplomacy.

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT