Cité Moderne - Moderne Wijk, neighborhood in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Belgium
Cité Moderne - Moderne Wijk is a residential neighborhood in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe built in the early 1920s with modernist architectural style. The buildings feature simple lines and functional design in brick and concrete, arranged around squares and tree-lined streets that create broad outdoor spaces for walking and gathering.
The neighborhood was designed between 1922 and 1925 by architect Victor Bourgeois as a garden city to provide better living conditions for working families. This was Belgium's only example of such a strongly modernist urban design, and it won a major award at the 1925 Paris Decorative Arts Exhibition.
The neighborhood features public spaces named after cooperation and progress, such as the Place of the Cooperators. Residents gather in small squares and along the streets, where children play and people tend to their gardens in a relaxed community rhythm.
The neighborhood is easy to walk through, with wide tree-lined streets and marked squares like the Place of the Cooperators that invite leisurely strolls. The paths are flat and well-organized, making exploration straightforward and orientation simple.
The neighborhood features decorative details like colorful stained glass windows by Pierre-Louis Flouquet and protruding window bays that break up the austere modernism. These elements add an artistic and personal touch to the simple facades.
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