Stage 4
Stage 4
Even more gems
Art Nouveau
Set off towards 71 Rue Defacqz to admire the home of the architect Paul Hankar. Built in 1893, it’s considered a manifesto of Art Nouveau. At number 50 (welcome to Ixelles!), you’ll find the private mansion of painter René Janssens, built in 1898 by Hankar and whose plans were inspired by the Albert Ciamberlani mansion. Located at number 48, this other Art Nouveau jewel was designed a year earlier, again by Hankar (the architect designed a great many houses in Saint-Gilles and Forest). At 83 Rue de Livourne, you can admire the surprising home of the architect Van Rysselberghe, an eclectic Art Nouveau-inspired building constructed in 1912. Its facade draws from the mediaeval tradition, the Renaissance and the Baroque style.
© visit.brussels
© visit.brussels - Eric Danhier
At 6 Rue Janson is another gem of Art Nouveau in Brussels: the Tassel Hotel, one of the first buildings to be designed by Victor Horta, built between 1892 and 1893. This town house is considered the founding work of Art Nouveau in Brussels.
Not far away, architecture enthusiasts are spoilt at the CIVA, at 55 Rue de l'Ermitage. This former secondary electricity plant in Ixelles, built in 1895 in an eclectic style by architect Emile Devreux, is a museum, an archive, a library, and a place for meetings and discussions for those passionate about architecture, landscape, the urban ecosystem and history in Brussels.
© visit.brussels - Jean-Michel Byl
© visit.brussels - Jean-Paul Remy
At 224 Avenue Louise stands the incredible Hôtel Solvay, a breath-taking Art Nouveau building also entrusted to Horta, who was given carte blanche to design it. While the structural work was completed in 1898, the interior finishings took until 1903. Next stop is the (not very imaginative) Hotel de Brouckère, designed by architects Octave Van Rysselberghe and Henry van de Velde in 1898 at the corner of Rue Crayer and Rue Jordaens. On Rue de Belle-Vue, you can see an Art Nouveau architectural ensemble of town houses, again designed by Ernest Blerot, at numbers 30 & 32, and 42, 44 and 46.
Another Art Nouveau jewel designed by Horta is the mansion commissioned by lawyer and politician Max Hallet at 346 Avenue Louise. Construction was completed in 1904, but it is more conventional than the previous buildings. Visits are possible but be aware that the original furniture has not been preserved. Head to the Ixelles Ponds and, at 6 Rue du Lac, the workshop of master glassmaker Sterner. Designed by architect Ernest Delune in 1902, the studio was, of course, adorned with splendid stained-glass windows by Sterner himself. Further down, at numbers 38 and 39 Avenue Général de Gaulle, on the outskirts of the ponds, stand two Art Nouveau town houses dating from 1904 and designed by the architect Ernest Blerot.