After the Second World War, Roger Bastin and Jacques Dupuis were commissioned with numerous projects as part of the reconstruction of the Ardennes and Sambre-et-Meuse regions.

In Malmedy, they were chosen by Jacques Lechat to build a social centre, housing and sports and leisure facilities for ESMA, the regional electricity company. The result is a remarkable complex, rich in spatial inventions, elegant details, references, art and craftsmanship. From 1952 onwards, this project appeared in the Belgian and international architectural press, and several times in the early 2000s. In 2001, architect Raymond Balau was commissioned to compile a dossier with a view to having the complex listed as a heritage site. The site, which had become the property of Engie, was then sold to a developer. Despite the 136 pages of arguments, nothing was done, and today, under the blows of speculation and inappropriate and clumsy interventions, all that remains is the memory of an innovative social experiment and a rich architecture, combining modernity with regional characteristics.