 In 1875, the Belgian architect Gédéon Bordiau made a proposal to build flats on the site of a former parade ground of the Garde Civique.The location was named "Cinquantenaire" in French (literally "50th anniversary") because it was planned as an exhibition space to celebrate the half-century since Belgium's independence in 1830.Temporary structures were erected on the site for the International Exposition of 1897 as Bordiau's work had not been finished.