The complex of buildings occupied by the Archives Service of the City of Brussels is the result of successive extensions carried out over several decades by Jules Waucquez et Compagnie. This company, founded in 1901, has created one of the largest wholesale businesses working on the fabric of our country.

The City of Brussels acquired this interesting example of commercial architecture - now a listed building - in 1976 for the storage of its archives. Installing the Archives Service in the Marolles was a way of revitalising a district hit hard by the damage to the surrounding area as a result of the disruption to the urban fabric following the construction of the Nord-Midi railway junction.