Architect Albert Dumont drew up the plans for the building, constructed on the site of a former sand quarry between 1896 and 1904. He designed a 4,267 m² building with two curved wings that seem to welcome the citizens. A convinced Francophile, he adopted an opulent French neo-Renaissance style, using pink granite from the Vosges, Euville and Savonnières stone, brick and blue stone. Around twenty artists, including Julien Dillens, Paul Dubois, Victor Rousseau and Jef Lambeaux, contributed to the rich sculptural decoration of the façades and courtyard of honour. Inside, contributions came from Fernand Khnopff, Eugène Broerman, Émile Fabry, Égide Rombaux, Alfred Cluysenaar, Jacques de Lalaing and Albert Ciamberlani, among others.
Designed at the dawn of the 20th century, in a context of intense urban expansion, this monumental building embodies the ambition of a city in transformation. Saint-Gilles Town Hall also bears witness to changes in the urban landscape at the time of its construction. On its walls and in the adjoining public spaces, artists painted or modelled the former agricultural landscape of Saint-Gilles and the city’s expansion. (Listed since 08/08/1988)