Art Deco architects in Brussels

He's the man behind the sumptuous Villa Empain! The ultra-chic Résidence Palace, with its mosaic swimming pool and Turkish baths, was another of his creations! And you might be surprised to hear that the elegant Georges Eastman Dental Centre (now the House of European History) is also his work. Not only was Michel Polak the architect of luxury and splendour in Brussels in the first half of the twentieth century, he also proposed a new way of living in the city through his contribution to the development of apartment blocks. 

There's only a fine line between geometric Art Nouveau and Art Deco! One that Jean Baptiste Dewin crossed with ease. From the former maternity hospital in Ixelles - whose walls are warmed by a superb combination of orange bricks and mosaics - to Saint Pierre University Hospital - Dewin was Brussels' leading architect of hospitals, clinics and nursing homes in the early 20th century. In an altogether different register, his masterpiece is undoubtedly Forest's town hall, whose proportions and wealth of ornamentation are well worth a visit! 

Brussels has its own white house, thanks to Joseph Diongre! There's no oval office here, just an extravagant facade in relief. In addition to the Withuis (White House in Dutch), Joseph Diongre is also the architect behind one of the capital's most iconic buildings: Flagey! Blending sobriety and pragmatism, this ocean liner-style edifice adorned with ochre bricks has stayed the course over the years. Appointed architect to the commune of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Joseph Diongre also tried his hand at building social housing, including the remarkable Diongre garden estate and its 112 homes with bucolic cottage charm. Staying in the same commune, the Church of Saint-John the Baptist, designed in reinforced concrete, is another of his remarkable works.

It's fair to say that Antoine Courtens learned from the best! A pupil of Victor Horta, a collaborator of Tony Garnier in Lyon and a disciple of Frank Lloyd Wright, this native of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode has surrounded himself with excellence. In Brussels, he designed the Palais de la Folle Chanson, a striking corner building topped by a rotunda. The upper part of this manifesto of Brussels Art Deco evokes a starry composition, a nod to the rond-point Étoile (star roundabout) it overlooks. Further afield in Ixelles, his love of rotundas can be seen in Haerens House, whose facade sits on a corner of avenue Brugmann. 

At the turn of the 1930s, this architectural duo designed one of the finest examples of the Amsterdam school of architecture in Brussels: Van Buuren House. Exploring Art Deco, eclecticism and modernism, these partners designed a fine series of houses and villas in the spirit of the 1930s. On his own, Léon Emmanuel Govaerts gave his inimitable style to the front of Hôtel Espérance, dressed in red marble and splendid geometric stained-glass windows. 

Albert Van Huffel's name is inextricably linked with his life's work: the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Koekelberg. The largest Art Deco religious building in the world, this monument of bold lines is a complete work of art. It was with the model of this colossal project that the Ghent-born architect won the Grand Prix for Architecture at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris. More than just an architect, Van Huffel was also a designer of furniture, carpets, embroidery and lighting. A jack-of-all-trades who succeeded in combining functionality and beauty with consummate ease.