Description
The site now occupied by the Ixelles Town Hall was once a villa-inn called Le Tulipant, surrounded by a park and already mentioned in the 17th century. In 1833, the villa was replaced by a residence designed for composer Charles de Bériot, who named it “Pavillon Malibran” in tribute to the celebrated singer Maria Malibran, his wife shortly before her death. In 1849, the municipality of Ixelles purchased the estate, turned part of the park into a public square, and gradually installed its administrative offices in the pavilion.
Over time, the building underwent numerous alterations and extensions. In the 1860s-1870s, a neoclassical administrative wing was added. In 1893, architect Jules Brunfaut expanded the rotunda and transformed the reception hall into a Council Chamber in the Italian Neo-Renaissance style. Between 1903 and 1909, Maurice Bisschops designed three extension projects; the final version added a three-bay annex linking the main building to the administrative wings. Other architects, including Joseph Caluwaerts and Alphonse Boelens, contributed to the interior design (the dome and the Hall of Honour) and to the construction of a police station and a former fire station.
Architecturally, the building combines several styles — Empire, Beaux-Arts, Neoclassical, Neo-Renaissance, eclectic, and touches of Art Nouveau — reflecting its successive transformations. The main façade is distinguished by a five-arched rotunda supported by paired Ionic columns, stone ornaments, pediments, and pilasters. Inside, the decorative features from the 1909 renovation are largely preserved: the Neo-Renaissance Council Chamber, the gallery beneath the dome, Corinthian pilasters, and original furniture designed by Brunfaut (with a few later modifications). The entire complex has been listed as a protected monument since 13 April 1995.
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