ArchitectureBrussels & Charleroi · Feature; most buildings publicly visible
Post-war Belgian modernism, from Brussels metro stations to a Magritte mural
A Wallpaper* feature on the tiles, mosaics, murals and door handles of Belgium's overlooked post-war buildings, many at risk of disappearing.
Gerlin Heestermans makes the case for a period Belgium tends to overlook or knock down: the decades after Expo 58, when cheap loans put a home within reach of most families and modernism loosened up. Post-war buildings used economical materials and quicker modular construction, but they were also meant to be humane and, crucially, fun, with artists and architects working side by side.
The pleasure is in the details. Think enamel and ceramic door handles, colourful sandwich panels and, above all, tiles, especially glass mosaic that caught the sun on façades. The Ravenstein Gallery in Brussels, by Alexis and Philippe Dumont, bridges a 10m drop between Central Station and Bozar with mosaic-and-marble stairs and a 1958 night-sky mural by Jean Ado Baltus at the entrance. Pannenhuis metro station looks like a sci-fi spaceship. In Charleroi, the Palais des Beaux-Arts holds a Magritte mural, La Fée Ignorante, in its congress room.
Few of these buildings are listed, and many homes are being altered as they change hands, so passion projects such as Ceramic Door Handles Belgium are doing much of the saving. One caution: the Blue Temple at the Museum of Freemasonry is still in use and not open through the museum. Otherwise, a fine excuse to look up, and down, next time you're changing trains in Brussels.
Our summary of a story from Wallpaper*, published 11 October 2026. Read the original
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From Wallpaper*