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The reconstruction of Brussels after the bombardment of 1695. Analysis of the mechanisms of recovery of the city through a historical and archaeological study of the use of brick

par Sosnowska, Philippe ;Goemaere, Eric
Référence Construction history, 31, 2, page (59-80)
Publication Publié, 2016

Article révisé par les pairs

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Résumé :

Through a combined historical and archaeological approach, this paper reports the mechanisms that allowed the city of Brussels to recover, quite rapidly, after the destruction caused by the bombardment of 1695. Two research approaches are used: the first analyzes the measures set up by the city and the central government to promote the material reconstruction of the city; the second focuses on the on-site supply of materials, with a focus on bricks as the reference material. This was achieved through the study of archive documents and archaeological data gathered for a group of buildings located in the bombed area. The authors demonstrate that local resources were heavily exploited but were not sufficient. A significant amount of ‘foreign’ materials was thus imported to the city. In addition, the capability of the city to be “reborn from its ashes” depended on the reuse of materials on a large scale as well as the redesign of many surviving structures. This material reality highlights a number of ingenious and innovative ways that the builders devised for using these various materials. By examining these different issues, the authors draw conclusions regarding the complexity of the organization of this vast building site, especially the commercial network, the production capacity and the costs of building materials.