Horta house

In the house of Victor Horta (25 rue American, Brussels) is today the Horta museum. This house belongs, with three other houses of Victor Horta to the world heritage of UNESCO.

The two buildings which compose this house were built between 1898 and 1901. Although they were conceived together and communicate by the interior, they have each one their own individuality, this in order to affirm the distinction between private sphere and professional workshop. The presence of this last was in particular justified by the complexity of certain decorative elements designed by Horta, which required the realization of mouldings or other outlines in order to facilitate the later realization of these parts by the craftsmen concerned, to which simple plans would not have always been enough.

The private dwelling includes/understands two staircases: the main staircase intended for the owners and guests, and backstairs. But most remarkable is the internal structure of the private dwelling: it is not really cut out in stages, insofar as the rise is gradually made, by half, third or quarters of levels. This, combined with the quasi-absence of partition walls to the beautiful-stage, opens varied prospects, others that horizontal, which contribute to give the impression of a house much vaster than it is it really. Moreover, like often at Horta, the staircase is not locked up in a cage, but constitutes really the spinal column of the house, while leaving even in full living room. Lastly, the light is brought not only by the frontages before and back, but also by a remarkable canopy which surmounts the staircase, and thus clarifies the center of the house well better than in the traditional houses of the time, with 3 parts in row, whose power station was often relatively obscure.

External bond

Official site

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