Programmaboekje : Wonen in welvaart - deSingel

5)
Offi ce des Cités Africaines (1952-1960)
Modern housing in Congo
There was never any industrial serial production of family houses
on large scale in Flanders. What could not be realized in Flanders,
was realized by the Offi ce des Cités Africaines (OCA) in Congo.
OCA was a semi-governmental institution that built, as part of the
Ten-year-plan for the economic and social development of Belgian
Congo, 35,000 modernistic homes, spread over districts for 8,000
to 10,000 inhabitants in the suburbs of big cities. OCA planned
housing from a central point and used standard housing schemes.
Because of the urgent housing shortage, the emphasis was put on
building homes. But OCA also built churches, schools, community
centres and was responsible for the entire equipment (electricity,
sewerage) and organisation of the districts.
The plans, drawings and photographs stored in the Africa-
Archives illustrate one of the most impressive series of housing
projects of Belgian architecture history. They show us a residential
architecture that deliberately chooses the path of industrialization
and standardization. In the struggle for independence the OCA
buildings were demolished. They were seen as a symbol of
repression and as an intrusion in the people’s daily lives.
(research: Bruno De Meulder)
6)
The Model district
Collective housing in a park
One of the most prestigious high-rise building projects in the
era after World War II was the Model district (Modelwijk), that
was designed for the world exhibition in 1958 in Brussels. It was
to show the progressive image of public housing in Belgium. A
team of architects, including Renaat Braem, designed a district for
5000 inhabitants as an island of order in the chaos of the suburb.
The Model district was designed according to the principles of
CIAM (Congrès Internationaux d’Architecture Moderne): high-rise
building, separating pedestrian and car traffi c, the emphasis on
common facilities and a green environment.
Renaat Braem had an important role in the design. His drawings
and sketches, of which a selection is on display for the fi rst
time, illustrate his vision that architecture can contribute to
a new society. It goes beyond the utilitarian level of ‘housing
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