Place Eugène Flagey

The () or (Dutch), usually shortened to the Place Flagey, or Flagey by locals, is a square in the Brussels municipality of Ixelles, Belgium. It bears the name of a former mayor of Ixelles, Eugène Flagey.

With ten streets converging there, the Place Flagey is one of the best connected crossroads in the city, directly adjacent to the neighbouring Ixelles Ponds. Until 1937, the square was known as the /, but this name only now applies to the square in front of the Church of the Holy Cross on the south-western corner.

The Flagey Building, also known as the ''Maison de la Radio'', is a remarkable Art Deco building, the former headquarters of the Belgian National Institute of Radio Broadcasting, and now houses Le Flagey cultural centre. It is located on the south-western corner of the square with its entrance on the Place Sainte-Croix.

History

Early history

The area comprising the Place Eugène Flagey was covered by the Ixelles Ponds until 1860 when one of the original ponds was drained as part of a new urban design. The square was originally known as the / ("Holy Cross' Square") after the Hospice de la Sainte-Croix, a hospice located at the bottom of the current /. The square was renamed in 1937 by , a Belgian lawyer and politician who served as mayor of Ixelles from 1935 to 1953. The Place Sainte-Croix remains limited today to the front of the Church of the Holy Cross (french: Église Sainte-Croix, link=no, nl, Heilig-Kruiskerk, link=no) on the edge of the ponds.

The construction of the area around the Place Eugène Flagey continued after World War II, between 1948 and 1963. The ensemble, although built in nearly thirty years in post-war functionalist style, displays a great homogeneity. Each building has a similar height, a yellow brick facade, a commercial ground floor surmounted by a mezzanine and crowned with a concrete awning, as well as a roof terrace. These latter elements give the set almost continuous horizontal lines, but each building nevertheless retains its architectural specificities. On 18 December 1957, the first self-service store in Belgium, by the Delhaize brothers, opened on the square, across from the Flagey Building.

Renovation (2004–2008)

Beginning in 2002, the square was extensively renovated. Prior to the renovation, it had been primarily used as an open-air parking lot. The project was infamously delayed many times and all activity had to grind to a halt for sometimes months on end. The plans were remade in 2004, partially on the demand of the local residents' association. Among their demands were the complete elimination of above ground parking in the square. The original plan was not deemed ambitious enough and a new competition was launched for international bids from different architects. Latz&Partner and D + A International eventually won the contract.

Official celebrations for the reopening of the Place Eugène Flagey took place in July 2008. Events held included fireworks, concerts, guided visits and film screenings. However, at the time of the official opening, the subterranean car park which was built below the square was not opened. The risk of flooding as well as other structural problems forced authorities to keep the facility closed. The car park finally opened on 15 November 2010. A large flood control reservoir for storm water (necessary due to the low-lying terrain and high groundwater level) has also been built under the square.

For some years until its last edition in 2016, an open-air screening of a film each night during the Brussels Film Festival (BRFF) took place in the square.

Naming

The square is usually named Flagey Square or in English sources, in French sources, and in Dutch sources. ''Flagey'' more often refers to the Flagey Building than the whole square, although it is sometimes used for the latter. Because the building's entrance is on the /, one of these names is also usually given as its address.

Places of interest

The Place Eugène Flagey is famous for:
* the Flagey Building, also known as the ''Maison de la Radio'' (1935–1938), the former headquarters of the Belgian National Institute of Radio Broadcasting (INR/NIR), a Streamline Moderne building occupying its entire southern side, renamed Le Flagey in 2002. It now hosts a cultural centre, which includes concert halls, cinemas and recording studios. Its Studio 4 is one of the concert halls with the best acoustics in the world.
* the building on the opposite side of the square to Le Flagey, which houses the first supermarket ever opened in Belgium, on 18 December 1957, a Delhaize
* the monument dedicated to the novelist Charles De Coster (1894), by Charles Samuel and , on the Ixelles Ponds' side
* the ''Frit Flagey'' friterie, serving chips cooked the traditional Belgian way, reputed to be among the best in Brussels

File:Charles De Coster 02.JPG, Monument to Charles De Coster (Samuel and De Vestel, 1894)
File:Ancien Institut national de Radiodiffusion - vue d'ensemble.JPG, Flagey Building or ''Maison de la Radio'' (Diongre, 1935–1938)
File:Bruxelles - Bloc Malibran or Victory House (1).jpg, Apartment building (Poppe, 1938)
File:Bruxelles - Flagey Station.jpg, Flagey tram and bus station (2004–2008)

Location and accessibility

The Place Eugène Flagey forms a trapezoid where a large number of roads begin and end: to the north, the / and the /; to the east, the /, the / and the /; to the south, the / and the /; to the west, the /, the / and the /. It is also on its west side that it is bordered by the tip of the Ixelles Ponds.

The Place Eugène Flagey is served by several STIB/MIVB lines: tram line 81 and bus lines 38, 59, 60 and 71, as well as TEC Walloon Brabant bus line 366. The square also hosts a Villo! shared bicycle station, as well as shared car stations (Cambio and Zen Car).

See also

* Art Deco in Brussels
* History of Brussels
* Belgium in "the long nineteenth century"

References

Notes

{{Brussels topics

Squares in Brussels
Ixelles
Art Deco architecture in Belgium