Former Institute of Anatomy / Institut Supérieur des Langues Vivantes (ISLV)
GPS Coordinates to access this building :
Longitude: 5° 34' 51.1392" (5.58087232228695) - Latitude: 50° 38' 19.323" (50.63870065471721)
Former Institute of Anatomy / Institut Supérieur des Langues Vivantes (ISLV)
Liège city Centre campus - Outremeuse zone
Rue de Pitteurs, 20
4020 Liège
The Institute of Anatomy, the first to be built in this new complex, was completed between 1883 and 1886, and bears the name Auguste Swaen in homage to the professor who presided over its construction.
Indeed, Auguste Swaen (1847-1929) and his colleague Félix Putzeys had brought back valuable information from their travels abroad, which was used by architect Lambert-Henri Noppius to design a state-of-the-art building.
The building in Liège was largely inspired by the Institute of Physiology in Breslau (Wroclaw), Poland. Constructed from brick, limestone and tufa, it is in the neo-Gothic style, as evidenced by the mullioned windows, broken arches and pinnacles. This neo-medieval taste was popular in Liège at the end of the 19th century (Grand Poste, Palais du Gouverneur), but its choice for a university building is more surprising, as neo-classicism was often favored for places of learning. The only other known case in the Cité ardente is the Institut d'Astronomie de Cointe.
The current building, modernized in the mid-twentieth century, retains its grand staircase and dissecting rooms, unique witnesses to medical practice at the time. Since 2006, it has been home to the Institut Confucius de Liège, the fruit of collaboration between the University of Liège and the Beijing Foreign Language University.
Its mission is to promote the development of Chinese language and culture teaching in the French-speaking Community of Belgium. It is part of an international network of some 300 Confucius Institutes recognized by China's National Office for Teaching Chinese Foreign Language. Language and calligraphy courses are available. The Institut Confucius de Liège also organizes conferences, colloquia and specific training courses for the business world.
On October 8, 2019, the "new" L3 is inaugurated after a complete renovation. It is now home to theInstitut Supérieur des Langues Vivantes (ISLV), the Traduction et Interprétation program of the Faculté de Philosophie et Lettres, the Centre d'Etudes Japonaises and the Confucius Institute.
Completely refurbished, the building contains offices, a 270-seat auditorium, 12 classrooms and a language laboratory (adapted for sign language). However, the grand staircase and the small dissecting amphitheatre (listed in the Walloon architectural and territorial heritage inventory) have been preserved.
It is also linked by a glass walkway to the brand new L5 building, which will be home to the Translation and Interpretation program.
Building nearby :
- E1 · Faculty of Architecture | Fonck site
- I1 · Institute of Zoology
- L1 · Museum and cultural center, Fonds Simenon and Faculty of Architecture
- L5 · Language training centre
