This building was originally home to a secondary coal-fired power plant, which mainly supplied the Brussels tram network. Although electrification only began in 1894, by 1903 this facility was no longer sufficient to meet demand. Converted into offices for the Brussels intermunicipal water company CIBE/BIWM in 1983, the building, now houses the International Centre for Urbanism, Architecture and Landscape (CIVA). The premises were restored, extended and repurposed through the joint efforts of architects Jean-Philippe Garric, Bernard Quirot, Valérie Nègre and Joseph Altuna. Opened in spring 2000, CIVA is an archive, study and exhibition centre that organises a raft of activities linked to the institutions based at the site: the René Pechère Library, the Archives d'Architecture Moderne (AAM), the Fonds pour l'Architecture, the Fonds Philippe Rotthier pour l'Architecture and the Paul Duvigneaud Centre (an ecological documentation centre). Visitors can consult documents, tour the exhibitions and participate in the other events hosted by CIVA throughout the year.