The decades that follow the Second World War are marked by key changes. Faith in progress is unshakeable and there are considerable technical and scientific advances. The rapid development of the economy gradually gives life to a society of consumption.

This dynamic brings about a true renaissance of modern architecture. The conceptions of the architects of the inter-war period, until now confined in the closed circle of the avant-garde, take centre stage and transform the city.

Opening of the Delhaize supermarket on Rue de l’Escadron in Etterbeek, 29 September 1960 (Delhaize Group Archives).
 
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Modernism appears in Europe after the First World War. The first actors of the movement have a militant approach. Convinced that human happiness requires a rationalisation of construction, they advocate functional architecture, in concrete, steel and glass with a radically bare aesthetic.

The modern movement only truly gets a foothold in Belgium at the end of the 1930s. After the Second World War, it is accompanied by a significant renewal: purely functionalist precepts give way to a desire to soften and humanise. New trends appear that present architecture which is on a human level.

Rue Auguste Vermeylen 58-60, Evere, architect Gaston Brunfaut, 1957.
 
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Developed in the pre-war period, concrete and steel structures are improving. They allow transparent alternatives to the traditional construction system, in which the solid and heavy exterior walls, at once serve as a load-bearing structure and as an envelope.

Former Fiat showroom, Chaussée de Gand 294, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, architect Jean-Pierre Van Den Houte, 1962.
 
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The marked interest in scientific and technical progress is accompanied by a lively infatuation with construction processes. The structure of buildings is no longer hidden under rendering or a facing, but proudly displays itself. The prefabrication and rationalisation of construction is becoming the credo of many architects.


Fallon Stadium, Chemin du Struykbeken, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Isobelec company, ca. 1960 (company’s advertising brochure).
 
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It is an optimistic time with colourful architecture. The primary colours – bright blues, reds and yellows – as well as a whole range of colour shades, mainly pastel tones, enliven the architecture. Combining traditional materials and synthetic products, the façades blend smooth and glossy surfaces with rough sections, catching the light. Buildings are embellished with works of art: mosaic panels and metal or glistening stained glass reliefs framed in concrete.

Rue Dieudonné Lefèvre 1, Brussels-Laeken, architect Georges De Hens and engineer R. Rooryck, 1958.
 
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During the ten years that follow the war, construction lies dormant in the repetition of old styles. In this period, modern architecture has remained a marginal phenomenon. The pioneers have had to expend a lot of energy to confront ambient conformism and the disapproval of public opinion.

At the end of the decade, the trend is reversed and modernity becomes omnipresent. The mirage of the American city takes possession of minds and creates a genuine building frenzy. Modern architecture will eventually amass easy successes and itself give way to a certain conformism.

The Boulevard du Jardin botanique, transformed into a highway just before the Expo 58. In the centre, the oldest American-style office building in Brussels, Rue Royale 151-153, St-Josse, architect H. Van Kuyck, 1956-1957 (detail from a period postcard).
 
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The architecture of the 1950s and 1960s is today reaching a critical point. Little by little, the buildings are deteriorating or disappearing. The new materials, reputed at the time to be permanent, have poor resistance to the passage of time. However, this architecture’s worst enemy still remains the indifference, indeed the contempt, that it continues to arouse among the public. This is due, in particular, to the banality of a large part of the production of the period, in which the examples of quality become lost.

As elsewhere in Europe, a policy for the protection of the major works of the post-war period is being organised in the Brussels region. The goodwill of owners who are aware of the quality of their asset also constitutes an effective driver for the protection of the architecture. The development of a realisation of the value of these constructions is urgently needed in order to preserve the fragile balance on which their appeal rests.

Canteen of the State Administrative Centre, demolished in 2007.
 
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