On 29 May 2024, the Architecture Unit of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation presented the seventh and final volume of the Guide to Modern and Contemporary Architecture (GAMC), this time devoted to Walloon Brabant and Louvain-la-Neuve. It was an opportunity for its authors to highlight an eclectic and rich heritage that is nevertheless under threat.

Walloon Brabant undoubtedly has an image that sticks to it. That of the four-sided villa – with its perfectly manicured lawn and carport – which rivals in inventiveness and aesthetic audacity in an attempt to stand out in the generic hell of the sprawling city. While some of these buildings deserve their place in the bittersweet inventory of “Ugly Belgian Houses”, others have caught the attention of the scientific committee in charge of the latest GAMC.