The Brussels commune of Saint-Gilles has dozens of remarkable art nouveau houses. Many have gorgeous facades created by their owners to add to the beauty of the neighbourhood.
The art nouveau houses were often designed by forgotten architects who picked up ideas from Victor Horta or Paul Hankar. Or maybe they added a detail from Vienna or Glasgow they had seen in an architecture magazine.
Some of these houses have been neglected. The details lost. But occasionally a house has been lovingly restored. Everything shines again like new.
The house at Chaussée de Waterloo 250 catches your eye with its row of seven small stained glass windows and the fabulous sgraffito panels at the top showing two women representing Day and Night. It is one of five houses designed in 1901 by the forgotten architect Jean-Pierre Van Oostveen at No. 246 to 256.
It isn’t easy to restore these houses. The owner needs to find an expert who can restore sgraffito and glass-makers skilled in stained glass. It costs a lot of money. There are public subsidies, but these only cover a fraction of the costs. Yet these houses are part of the charm of Brussels that everyone can enjoy as they walk through the streets.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
