Building of the month | Institut d’Éducation physique, Liège

name: Institut d’Éducation physique
location: Sart-Tilman (Liège), Belgium
architect: Charles Vandenhove
year of construction: 1963 – 1966
original use: Sports halls, laboratories, swimming pool & academic facilities

Designed by Charles Vandenhove as part of the broader 1960s campus expansion for the University of Liège, the Institute for Physical Education is a fascinating example of post-war Late Modernism and New Brutalism in Belgium. Designed for both academic research and student recreation, the complex includes five distinct building volumes linked by open terraces, harmoniously embedded into the hilly landscape of the Sart Tilman plateau.

Each volume features an expressive silhouette defined by a massive, central truncated triangle with roof lights, flanked by lower sloping side wings that reflect the natural topography of the site. Arch. Vandenhove executed the complex with a straightforward material palette: in-situ concrete, concrete blocks, glued wood trusses, Slope roofs are covered with grey corrugated asbestos plates, and grass-covered flat roofs.

The design strongly reflects Team X principles by integrating architecture directly into its surrounding environment to establish a humanist space for both individual and collective activity.

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀

• Architectural value: Outstanding expression of post-war Late Modernism and Belgian New Brutalism, demonstrating Vandenhove’s approach to materials and structural elements. 
• Contextual value: Integrates seamlessly into the green, hilly Ardennes landscape, using building silhouettes to mirror the natural topography. 
• Urban planning value: Represents a rare, comprehensive planning effort for sports and academic facilities in late 20th-century Belgium. 

𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Restored alongside the surrounding site in recent years, the complex continues its original university function