Hôtel Hannon

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Hôtel Hannon
Saint-Gilles Brunfaut 050810 (15).JPG
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General information
Typevilla
Architectural styleArt Nouveau
LocationAvenue Brugmann and
Avenue de la Jonction,
Brussels, Belgium
Coordinates50°49′15″N 4°21′8″E / 50.82083°N 4.35222°E / 50.82083; 4.35222
Completed1904
Design and construction
ArchitectJules Brunfaut

The Hôtel Hannon is an Art Nouveau villa in the municipality of Saint-Gilles in greater Brussels, Belgium. The house was constructed in 1903 and 1904 for the industrialist Édouard Hannon, and is the only Art Nouveau house designed by the Belgian architect Jules Brunfaut.[1]

Location[]

The Hôtel Hannon is located at the corner of Avenue Brugmann and Avenue de la Jonction, in Saint-Gilles, "in a neighborhood which, even today, remains a sacred district of architectural jewels."[2]

History[]

Édouard Hannon was an engineer with the Solvay company and the longtime manager of Solvay's sodium carbonate plant at Dombasle-sur-Meurthe, just south of Nancy, France, as well as a painter, art critic and photographer.[3] He gave the task of conceiving and building his new house to his friend Jules Brunfaut, asking him to use the Art Nouveau style that Hannon loved very much and that was popular both in Brussels and Nancy. The house was occupied by the Hannon family until 1965. Upon the death of the original owner's daughter, the property was abandoned, vandalized, and eventually threatened with demolition.[1] In 1973, the daughter of Jules Brunfaut consulted the Commission royale des Monuments et Sites and made inquiries as to the status of this work of her father, which was still unoccupied;[2] as a result of her efforts, the exterior of the building was classified as a historic monument in 1976.[1] The building was acquired by the municipality of Saint-Gilles in 1979,[3] the interior was classified in 1983, and the building underwent a significant renovation between 1984 and 1989.[1]

In 1988,[2] the Hôtel Hannon was put at the disposal of the Espace photographique Contretype,[3] which, in addition to conserving the photographic work of Édouard Hannon, works to promote creative photography through expositions, retrospectives of artists, conferences and their publications. After having occupied the Hôtel until 2014, Contretype moved to the Cité Fontainas, another building in Saint-Gilles.[3]

In 2022, the entirely renovated building will become a museum, under the auspices of the team at the Horta Museum. Visitors will be able to rediscover the furniture of Émile Gallé, which will return to its original home.[4]

Architecture[]

The façades of the Hôtel Hannon combine white brick, limestone, and granite.[1]

The house has two very asymmetrical façades: a short one of a single bay on the avenue Brugmann, and a more important façade of two bays on the avenue de la Jonction, with the two façades joined by a three-bay angular span between them.[1]

The façade of the avenue de la Jonction presents a play of volumes in projections and recesses, Its central bay carries a large bay window comprising a limestone base, a chassis in wood that holds a stained glass window by Raphaël Évaldre and a roof convered in zinc, surmounted by a setback of the upper floors, pierced by a triplet of windows on the first floor and a pair of windows on the second floor.[1]

The corner, consisting of three bays, is ornamented with a remarkable balcony of wrought iron undergirded by a stone substructure that extends from the base to the first floor, where they "open into volutes." The upper level of the corner bay is decorated with a large Bas-Relief by Victor Rousseau entitled La fileuse ("The Daughter"), which is an allegory of Time.[1]

The building is a rather clumsy Art Nouveau design, and Brunfaut's discomfort with the style is evident, but the architect nonetheless took some cues from his fellow, more adept Art Nouveau designer Victor Horta, such as the impressive central staircase, a typical design element in Horta's residences such as the Hôtel Tassel, Hôtel Solvay, and Hôtel van Eetvelde.

  • Oriel and bays facing the avenue de la Jonction.
  • Oriel.
  • Base of the oriel.
  • Corner bays.
  • La fileuse, bas-relief by Victor Rousseau.

Interior[]

The architect called on numerous artists for the interior and exterior decoration of the building. The conception of the furniture (which will return to the house in 2022 with the opening of the museum) and the interior decoration is the work of Émile Gallé and Louis Majorelle.

Certain frescoes in the smoking room and the stair hall are the work of the painter Paul Albert Baudouin.[5]

The staircase ironwork is by Pierre Desmedt, and the stained glass the work of Raphaël Évaldre.

  • Stair hall fresco.
  • Stair hall fresco.
  • Stair hall fresco.

  • Stair hall mosaic.

  • Stained glass.

See also[]

External links[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h L'Hôtel Hannon sur le site de l'inventaire du patrimoine architectural de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Karim Fadoul (28 July 2003). "Les cent ans de l'Hôtel Hannon". DH Les Sports+.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d L'Hôtel Hannon sur le site de l'Espace photographique Contretype
  4. ^ http://www.vivreici.be/article/detail_une-journee-a-saint-gilles-la-commune-relax-de-bruxelles?id=490529
  5. ^ Piet Swimberghe, Living in Brussels. Lannoo Uitgeverij, pp. 126–128. ISBN 9020949799.
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