Hellemans City

After the socialists joined the city council, hygienist architect Emile Hellemans (1853-1926) was commissioned to design a workers' neighborhood. His research from 1907 revealed that more than 77,000 Brussels residents occupied a home with only one or two rooms.

Hellemans’ design consists of seven parallel residential blocks separated by wide, easily maintainable pedestrian streets. Each apartment spans the entire depth of the building for maximum air circulation and light entry. Parents, daughters, and sons had a separate bedroom. Each apartment had a terrace and a toilet with a siphon. The rooftop terrace was also accessible. These are some of the hygienic features of this social housing neighborhood that was completed in 1915.

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