Evere City Hall

Evere City Hall (French: Maison communale d'Evere) is one of the most distinctive public buildings in Brussels, built between 1938 and 1939 on Square Servaes Hoedemaekers in Evere, one of the nineteen municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region. It was designed by Robert Rousseau, a young architect who had only recently graduated from the Institut Saint-Luc in Brussels. This was his first major commission on such a scale, which makes the building a striking example of a career-defining debut within the interwar modernist generation in Belgium.

Why does the building look like an ocean liner?

The city hall was laid out on the plan of a concave hexagon covering roughly 3,900 square metres, and its rounded corners combined with horizontal bands of windows give it a distinctly streamlined silhouette. This is why the building is often described as belonging to the "paquebot" (ocean liner) style, one of the variants of 1930s modernist architecture directly inspired by the aesthetics of contemporary passenger ships: smooth curved façades, horizontal railings evoking ship decks, and a stripped-down, functional form. The structure is built in reinforced concrete, with façades faced in glazed yellow brick, reinforcing the sense of a single continuous volume. Facing the square, the building is flanked by a blind belfry-like tower some 22 metres tall — a symbolic rather than functional feature, echoing traditional Belgian town halls even though it carries no bell or clock of the kind found on classic belfries.

What stood here before the current building?

Before Evere had a dedicated seat of local government, the municipal council met in decidedly modest surroundings — before 1840, sessions were held either at the mayor's private home or in a local tavern. The first proper town hall was built later, to a design by architect Louis Spaak, at the corner of Rue Stuckens and Rue Pepermans. That earlier building soon proved too small: after the First World War, Evere experienced rapid population growth, driven by industrial expansion and its proximity to Brussels, which made a much larger administrative headquarters necessary. It was precisely in response to this demographic pressure that the present building on Square Servaes Hoedemaekers was constructed, opening in 1939.

What is inside the building?

The city hall spans four floors, housing both the municipality's administrative departments and a number of formal ceremonial rooms. The most impressive of these is the marriage hall, measuring 22 by 9 metres and lit by the tall, narrow bay windows that run along the south-eastern façade — it is precisely these openings that reveal, from the outside, where the building's most representative rooms are located. The municipal council chamber shares a similarly formal character. Both spaces were finished with considerable ambition for an administrative building of their time: marble, wood panelling, and sculpted or painted ornamentation, all intended to reflect the standing of municipal government in the interwar period.

Frequently asked questions

Who designed Evere City Hall? The building was designed by Robert Rousseau, a graduate of the Institut Saint-Luc in Brussels, with construction carried out between 1938 and 1939.

Why is the city hall described as being in the "paquebot" style? Because of its streamlined, rounded volume on a concave hexagonal plan, its horizontal window bands, and its smooth glazed yellow brick façades, all reminiscent of an ocean liner's design.

Did Evere have an earlier town hall? Yes, an earlier building stood at the corner of Rue Stuckens and Rue Pepermans and was designed by architect Louis Spaak; before 1840 the municipal council had no permanent seat at all.

What rooms can visitors see inside? The most notable are the marriage hall and the municipal council chamber, both richly finished in marble and wood panelling.

How large is the building? It covers a footprint of roughly 3,900 square metres and is flanked by a blind tower standing about 22 metres tall.