Van Buuren Museum

Anatoli — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 11:16:14 +0000

Yesterday I had a change to visit the famous Van Buuren House in Uccle. It is an art deco villa constructed by a Dutch banker David Van Buuren as a personal residence back in 1928 where he lived together with his wife Alice. On the outside the house appears to be typically Dutch, however on the inside it is full of custom made art deco furniture and contemporary carpets as well as paintings by Gustave van de Woestyne and other renowned artists. Originally the house was designed to host two bedrooms, however later the guest bedroom was suppressed in order to give room for a magnificent bronze hanging lamp by Gustav Klimt in the main hallway. The gardens adjacent to the house are simply incredible in their refinement and are actually much larger than they appear – part of the garden is dedicated to a small labyrinth. This house is definitely a must see for those who are interested in early XXth century design!

Victor Horta museum

Anatoli — Sun, 09 May 2010 21:29:36 +0000

So, today I have finally found the necessary time to visit the famous Belgian architect’s personal residence turned museum. It is located at rue Américaine number 25 of the Saint Gilles commune of Brussels. Here you can see the museum’s website. Unfortunately no photography was allowed inside, but I found this beautiful photo of the main staircase on UNESCO’s World Heritage website. It is a good example of the innovation that makes his architecture unique: having placed the stairs in the middle of the house rather than on the side as was commonly done in Brussels before, he divided the space in two distinct volumes, which could be well lit thanks to the combination of light coming from the windows in the facades and a soft light produced by the skylight above the staircase.

Time to redecorate? » Architecture

Van Buuren Museum

Victor Horta museum