brussels architecture : from 1950 to the present day

Résumé

60 years of architecture in Brussels The some 400 projects presented are placed in the context of their age and their significance : repairing the damage caused by the route taken by the North-South railway junction and the impoverishment of the city centre, Expo'58 and the primacy awarded to the motorcar, the phenomenon of bruxellisation, May'68 and urban protest, the oil crises and birth of the metro, the effects of regionalization, urbain renewal and the growing strength of environmental demands... To name but some.An architectural arc that stretches from the immediate post-war quest for monumentalism to the most diverse contemporary realizations, from small-scale contextual projects to neighbourhood contracts and realizations on a scale required by a European capital and signed by leading international architects including Jean Nouvel for the South Station, Christian de Portzamparc for tho European quarter, and the Dutch agency KCAP for the Heysel plateau.A breakdown into decades, The presence of inserts devoted to vibrant locations (bookshops, cafés, concert halls, metro stations, etc.) and illustrations make this publication an ideal instrument for understanding and appreciating the originality of Brussels. A capital that, drawing on both beauty and chaos, offers a contemporary quality of life and distinctive architecture with its roots in the freedoms acquired at the time of the municipal struggles.