Collection

Mortuary clinic

  • Date 1958-1962
  • Address Rue Dos Fanchon, 41 – 4020 Liège

The construction of a mortuary followed the destruction of the old buildings during the Second World War. The choice of site was by no means random and reflected the authorities’ desire to strengthen the medical presence in the Bavière neighbourhood of Outremeuse. As with other projects carried out later for the university, the design of the new building was undertaken by the architect, assisted by the Technical Service of the University of Liège (SETU), represented by Professor H. Louis.

Discreetly situated, the mortuary is set back from the road behind a high brick wall, featuring one entrance for vehicles and another for staff. The entire complex radiates out from a courtyard that floods the interior spaces with light. At the rear of the building, out of public view, the ‘entrance for the deceased’ leads in succession to the changing room, the cold storage room, the room where bodies are placed in coffins, and finally the funeral parlour, which is accessible to the public via a separate door. A large autopsy theatre acts as a buffer between the premises and the offices reserved for doctors and magistrates. Adjacent to the administrative offices, accommodation is provided for the caretaker.

The architect’s design is one of great simplicity and is reminiscent of industrial architecture. A long, simple volume – topped by pyramidal skylights that are not unlike those designed for Inichar – is surmounted by a massive masonry structure signifying the mortuary. The great uniformity of the façades, composed of grey-coloured bricks and teak window frames from Moulmein, helps to reinforce the building’s visual impact by drawing on the strength of its volumes.

  • Description of the collection

    Complete plans, photographic records, correspondence, invoices, specifications…
  • Volumetry 4 archive boxes (0.48 m)
  • Bibliography

    Plaquette éditée à l’occasion de la visite officielle de la nouvelle salle d’autopsies et de dépôt mortuaire de la rue Dos Fanchon.

    Numéro spécial consacré à l’architecte Ch. Vandenhove, La Maison, n° 5, May 1967, p. 160-161.

    « Clinique mortuaire et transfusion sanguine à Liège » in Architecture, n° 82, 1968, p. 83-85.
  • AUTHOR AND DATE OF THE ENTRY Sébastien Charlier, 2021