Maison du Peuple (Brussels)

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Maison du Peuple (in French)
Volkshuis (in Dutch)
Maison du Peuple of the P.O.B. (Belgian Workers Party) (destroyed, Brussels), exterior 3 (cropped).jpg
View of the Maison du Peuple/Volkshuis in the late 19th century or early 20th century
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Alternative namesPeople’s Home
People’s House
General information
StatusDemolished
TypePolitical headquarters premises
Architectural styleArt Nouveau
LocationCity of Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium
Coordinates50°50′28″N 4°21′09″E / 50.84111°N 4.3525°E / 50.84111; 4.3525Coordinates: 50°50′28″N 4°21′09″E / 50.84111°N 4.3525°E / 50.84111; 4.3525
Named forWorkers (Belgian Workers' Party)
Completed1899
Demolished1965
Technical details
MaterialWhite cast iron
Design and construction
ArchitectVictor Horta

The Maison du Peuple (in French) or Volkshuis (in Dutch), both literally the "House of the People", was a public building located on Emile Vandervelde Square, near the Sablon/Zavel, in Brussels (Belgium). It was one of the most influential Art Nouveau buildings in Belgium and one of the most notable designs by Belgian architect Victor Horta.[1][2] Commissioned by the Belgian Workers' Party,[1] it was constructed between 1896 and 1899, and opened on 2 April 1899.[3]

The building was demolished in 1965, and a skyscraper was built on its site.[2] Its demolition has been regarded as an "architectural crime" and an example of "Brusselization".[2][3]

Building[]

Victor Horta was commissioned by the Belgian Workers' Party to build a grandiose people's house on Emile Vandervelde Square in central Brussels. He was assisted in this project by Richard Pringiers, who was to become the appointed architect of the party.

Victor Horta, the architect of the Maison du Peuple/Volkshuis

In spite of a rather restrictive and irregular plot, along a circular square and on a slope, Horta succeeded to construct a 4-storey building with maximum functionality. It provided space for all kinds of socio-economic facilities; the ground floor was made of shops and a café-restaurant; the first floor included the Party's offices and meeting rooms, as well as a library; the second and third floors welcomed various multi-purpose rooms; and the fourth floor was home to a large auditorium and concert hall seating over 2,000 people.[4][5]

Unlike Horta's houses, the decoration was kept to a minimum, as it was a purely functional building, mainly constructed in white cast iron (more than 600,000 kg [1,300,000 lb]) with curtain walls. Fifteen craftsmen worked for eighteen months on the ironwork. The only strikingly recognisable Art Nouveau features of the facade were the balustrades with curling lines, as well as a slight curving of the steel pillars supporting the roof. On the roof, the building was decorated with signs bearing the names of people who contributed to the socialist cause, such as Karl Marx and Leon Blum. As with Horta's houses, however, the building was designed to make a maximum use of light, with large skylights over the main meeting room. To make this construction possible, Horta drew no less than 8,500 m2 (91,000 sq ft) of plans.

The building was completed in 1899 and was inaugurated in the presence of the French socialist leader Jean Jaurès.[3][4][5] Because of the experimental combination of brick, glass, and steel, it was considered as a masterwork of modern architecture.

  • View from the exterior

  • Entrance

  • Theatre and Meeting Hall

  • Restaurant

Demolition[]

In spite of an international protest movement of over 700 architects, the building was demolished in 1965.[3][4][5] It was dismantled entirely with the idea of rebuilding it elsewhere. However, its components were scattered in vacant lots around Brussels, and it was never reconstructed. Later, structural parts of the building were used in the Horta Grand Café in Antwerp and some of the original pieces can still be found in the Horta premetro station in Saint-Gilles.[3]

The loss of the Maison du Peuple was part of the trend of Brusselization, where many historic buildings were torn down and replaced by skyscrapers. The Maison du Peuple itself was replaced by a 26-floor office building, the Blaton Tower, built the year immediately after the Maison du Peuple's demolition.[3]

Blaton Tower on the spot where the Maison du Peuple/Volkshuis stood until its demolition in 1965

Virtual Reconstruction[]

Since 2014, a scientific team of the Université Libre de Bruxelles and the Horta Museum is virtually rebuilding parts of the Maison du Peuple: the entrance hall, the café, the staircase, the concert hall, the Matteoti hall and the surroundings. The first results can be seen in the Horta Museum: a photorealistic 8 minutes movie and a tablet app with navigatable 360° renderings.[6][7][8][9]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Thake, Conrad (2011). "A PROJECT FOR A 'CENTRO D'ITALIANITÀ' IN MALTA". Malta Historical Society. Melita Historica. XV (4): 434–436. ISSN 1021-6952. OCLC 472457132. Archived from the original on 17 December 2016.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Cupola's Art Nouveau Architecture - Maison du Peuple". www.cupola.com. Retrieved Sep 11, 2020.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "The Disappearance of the Maison du Peuple or the assassination of Victor Horta". Retrieved 2018-08-19.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c "eBru | La Maison du Peuple | Victor Horta | Art nouveau | Bruxelles". www.ebru.be. Retrieved 2018-08-19.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Victor Horta Most Important Art | TheArtStory". The Art Story. Retrieved 2018-08-19.
  6. ^ "Reconstitution virtuelle de la Maison du peuple de Victor Horta". Retrieved Sep 11, 2020.
  7. ^ "Dossier de presse La Maison du Peuple de Victor Horta : Visite Virtuelle". Retrieved Sep 11, 2020.
  8. ^ "Hortamuseum - Welcome". www.hortamuseum.be. Retrieved Sep 11, 2020.
  9. ^ Inauguration de la reconstitution virtuelle de la Maison du Peuple de Victor Horta

External links[]

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