Alphonse Balat

Alphonse Hubert François Balat (Gochenée, 1818 - Ixelles, 1895) is a Belgian architect.

Biographical elements

Alphonse Balat is trained with the Academy of the fine arts of Namur, pouis of Antwerp, where it obtains a first price of architectural composition in 1838. He is one of the principal architects of the king of the Belgians, Léopold II, for which he constructs in particular the frontage of the Royal palace of Brussels, the royal Serres of Laeken. He is also the author of the museum of the fine arts of Brussels.

He is buried with the Cimetière of Laeken.

Architectural step

“Still Simplify, simplify, always simplify and when you very simplify, you will not have simplified yet enough. ”

In that, Alphonse Balat is distinguished clearly from his contemporaries. At one time when eclecticism reigns as a Master, Balat proposes the pure line of the traditional models, of Antiquity to the Italian Rebirth. It more pays attention to the architectural broad outlines of the building that to work on the details of decoration and the style.

By a progressive purification of the forms, Alphonse Balat makes the synthesis between the traditional tradition and the esthetic aspirations of his time while bringing an answer convincing to new programs.

Achievements

; Architect of the king Léopold II (as from 1860)

Royal palace of Brussels (1866-1874): main staircase, decoration of the living rooms, throne room, back frontage, several projects for the principal frontage (realized by Henri Maquet);
royal Field of Laeken: horse-gear (1873-1874), main entrance of the park (1879-1880), restoration after fire (1890)

royal Greenhouses of Laeken (1874-1890)
royal Museums of the Art schools of Belgium (1875-1880), street of Regency
Rebuilding of the Castle of Freyr after fire (as from 1875)
Project of the National Pantheon, plate of Koekelberg (1880 - noncarried out), dipterous ionic temple of colossal size
Frontage of the castle of Ciergnon (1880)
Project of installation of the Mountain of the Court, future Mount of Arts of Brussels (1882, noncarried out)

; Private architecture

Transformations with the castle of Jehay-Bodegnée
Castle of Warfusée with Saint-Georges: frontage French Rebirth and interior decoration (1840)
Saint-Marc Castle, close to Namur: frontage
Castle of Pails-lez-Andenne
Castle of Houtain-the-Valley: restoration wings in return and turrets frontage
Castle of Presles (1855)
Gentilhommière to Dave (1858)
Palate of Charles Vander Noot, marquis d' Assche, located street of Science, 33 (public garden Orban Brother) in Brussels (1856-1858) Currently occupied by the Council of State
Transformation of Opheylissem into castle of pleasure (cupola) (1870)

; Public architecture

Decoration room of the Madeleine in Brussels (1848)
Decoration room of the ducal palate in Brussels (1851)

References

Poelaert and its time , Catalog exposure, Brussels, communal Crédit of Belgium, 1980, pp. 199 to 209.

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