The site
At the beginning, this place is located in Molenbeek (left bank of the Senne), and around 1250 the Grand Béguinage of Brussels was established. As everywhere in our regions, this beguinage was suppressed during the French period (1803), and its heritage was handed over to the CPAS (which was then called "Les Hospices de Bruxelles").
The CPAS will carry out one of the first urban planning programmes of the city here: a new building called the "Grand Hospice", with a square that highlights it, and then a new district in place of the Grand Béguinage, of which only the church is preserved.
The care institution from the 13th century to the present day
The Grand Béguinage had a care institution for sick beguines, the "Infirmary", which was both a hospital and a rest home. The CPAS will maintain a mixed institution under the name of "Hospice de l'Infirmerie", where specialisations in ophthalmology and cancerology will be developed with the ULB.
The Maternity Hospital of Brussels and the Birth School of the Province of Brabant temporarily (1878-1935) occupied pavilions and houses around the central building. The central building, on the other hand, housed a section of the Athénée de la Ville (until 1890).
The Hospice de l'Infirmerie, located in the Grand Hospice, was renamed the Pacheco Institute in 1973. The name comes from the Pacheco-des Marès Foundation, dating back to 1713, for a long time located on the current Boulevard Pacheco (where it had already left its name), then on the current Jean Jacobs Square, and finally in 1890 in the quadrilateral on the side of the Grand Hospice Square. The evolution of standards required the relocation of hospital activities and MR-MRS (2017), and initiated a project of reconversion into housing.
The building
The architect of the CPAS, Henri Partoes, designed a very sober neo-classical building, on the plan of the convents, with two cloisters. One quarter was intended for women, the other for men. The transverse building was intended for the management, and ended in the east with a chapel. Completed in 1827, it was extensively restored and was awarded the Prix Europa Nostra (1983).