Founded in 1805, D’Ieteren was one of the first companies to produce coachwork for motor vehicles at the end of the 19th century. In 1906, the firm moved to Rue du Mail and added automobile construction to its activities. Success followed, and expansion soon required new buildings. Lucien d’Ieteren wanted a resolutely modern project and turned to René Stapels, an architect who would promote functionalism in Brussels. Assisted by colleagues, he designed a building that appears horizontally divided into two parts. The first stretches over 140 metres and has four levels, housing car parks, technical rooms, workshops and showrooms. The second, five storeys high, contains the company headquarters behind long curtain walls. Very representative of the taste of the period, the ensemble was built between 1962 and 1967 and imposed itself on the surrounding fabric with little concern for integration. Its assertive volumes and suspended architecture remain visual landmarks in the urban landscape. Now undergoing transformation and a change of use, the site is a significant example of the mutations currently taking place in Brussels.
The guided visit focuses on the history of the complex, the actors behind its design and the reconversion project and its stakeholders, highlighting contemporary issues linked to the evolution of the urban landscape.