Volta: from social housing estates to Ixelles

Not far from the Ixelles Cemetery, at the edge of the municipality, the Relais district houses several remarkable social housing complexes that bear witness to successive architectural movements. First the Cité Volta (1914-1925), in an Anglicizing medieval style, the only garden city in the municipality, so named because of its proximity to the Ancienne Régie Electricity offices. Then, the imposing Cité Vandeuren (1928-1935), of Art Déco inspiration, carried out in the wake by the same architect as the Cité Volta, Joseph Caluwaers. Finally, other post-war functionalist social buildings contrast sharply with the older complexes, while the newcomers, rue Volta (1999), in a postmodern style, reconnect with a certain concern for integration. This visit invites you to discover the history of these different complexes, as well as the vast renovation projects they have undergone in recent years.