Collection

CIVA keeps archives and pieces of collections from Belgian actors in architecture and landscape architecture e.g. Victor Bourgeois, René Pechère, Huib Hoste, Renaat Braem, Jules Buyssens, Victor Horta, Robert Puttemans, Paul Duvigneaud, Gaston, Maxime and Fernand Brunfaut. The archives consist of architectural plans, maps, models, old photos, written archives, pieces of furniture and textile, costumes, decoration, audiovisual and audio archives. It gathers archives from the departement of Modern Architecture and the Garden, Landscape and Urban Ecosystem department. CIVA’s collections are constituted of archives and various productions of the practice of architecture, landscape architecture and gardens, and of the reflexion on urban ecosystems in Belgium. They hold a major variety of supports: particularly important graphic archives, written archives, photographic documents, but also models, audio and audio-visual archives, furniture, wallpapers, fabrics, mainly from the 19th and the 20th century in Belgium. Collections are accessible to researchers, students, professionals and individuals. In total, some 500 funds make CIVA the most important archival center of architecture and landscape architecture of Belgium. The Modern Architecture Department gathers collections related to architectural practice. Among its collections, let us quote: Victor Bourgeois, Huib Hoste, Renaat Braem, Jean-Jules Eggerickx, Louis-Herman De Koninck, Gaston and Maxime Brunfaut, Antoine Courtens, Jos Bascourt, Alban Chambon, Henri Lacoste, Paul Hamesse, Akarova, Coulon & Noterman, the Structures Group, the Alpha Group, Jacques Cuisinier and, of course, Victor Horta and Henry Van de Velde. The Garden, Landscape & Urban Ecosystem Department gathers archives related to landscape architecture practice; among them, René Pechère funds, Jules Buyssens, JNC, Georges Neuray, Jacques Boulanger-Français, as well as archives from national and international institutions such as IFLA (International Federation of Landscape Architects), the International Committee of Historical Sites and Gardens ICOMOS-IFLA or the Association Belge des Architectes de Jardins et des Architectes Paysagistes – Belgische Vereniging van Tuin- en Landschapsarchitecten (A.B.A.J.P.-B.V.T.L.). The department also preserves and manages Paul Duvigneaud’s archives, which are dedicated to ecology and urban ecosystems.

Library Holdings

The CIVA library has a large collection of nearly 50,000 old and recent books, hundreds of magazine titles and documentation files dedicated to architecture, urban planning, city history, landscape architecture, gardens and urban ecosystems. The department of Modern Architecture gathers the library of the Archives d’Architecture Moderne (in Ixelles) and Sint-Lukasarchief (in Schaerbeek). The Garden, Landscape and Urban Ecosystem department gathers the collection of the René Pechère library and the documentation centre Paul Duvigneaud.