Hôtel Solvay
The Hôtel Solvay (French: Hôtel Solvay, Dutch: Hotel Solvay) is a large Art Nouveau town house designed by Victor Horta on the Avenue Louise/Louizalaan in Brussels, Belgium. The house was commissioned by Armand Solvay, the son of the chemist and industrialist Ernest Solvay, and built from 1898 to 1900.
| Hôtel Solvay | |
|---|---|
 Main facade of the Hôtel Solvay | |
| General information | |
| Type | Town house |
| Architectural style | Art Nouveau |
| Location | City of Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium |
| Coordinates | 50°49′34.75″N 4°21′55″E |
| Current tenants | Louis Wittamer |
| Construction started | 1898 |
| Completed | 1900 |
| Client | Armand Solvay |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Victor Horta |
| Official name | Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta (Brussels) |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, ii, iv |
| Designated | 2000 (24th session) |
| Reference no. | 1005 |
| Region | Europe and North America |
| References | |
| [1] | |
Together with three other town houses of Victor Horta, including Horta's own house and workshop, it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2000.[2]
History
The Hôtel Solvay was designed and built by Horta, between 1898 and 1900, to serve as a private residence for Armand Solvay, the son of the chemist, industrialist and philanthropist Ernest Solvay. For this wealthy patron, Horta could spend a fortune on precious materials and expensive details. He designed every single detail; furniture, carpets, light fittings, tableware and even the doorbell. He used expensive materials such as marble, onyx, bronze, tropical woods, etc. For the decoration of the staircase, he cooperated with the pointillist painter Théo van Rysselberghe.
The Hôtel Solvay and most of its content remained intact thanks to the Wittamer family. They acquired the house in the 1950s and did the utmost to preserve and restore this magnificent dwelling. The house is still private property and can only be visited by appointment and under very strict conditions. As of Saturday, 23 January 2021, the building will start operating as a museum[3] and will be accepting visitors twice a week.
Awards
The UNESCO commission recognised the Hôtel Solvay as UNESCO World Heritage in 2000, as part of the listing 'Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta':
The four major town houses—Hôtel Tassel, Hôtel Solvay, Hôtel van Eetvelde, and Maison & Atelier Horta—located in Brussels and designed by the architect Victor Horta, one of the earliest initiators of Art Nouveau, are some of the most remarkable pioneering works of architecture of the end of the 19th century. The stylistic revolution represented by these works is characterised by their open plan, the diffusion of light, and the brilliant joining of the curved lines of decoration with the structure of the building.[2]
Gallery
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Facade
Entrance.jpg.webp)
Doorbell
Design of interior decoration by Horta
References
Notes
- Région de Bruxelles-Capitale (2005–2006). "Hôtel Solvay" (in French). Brussels. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- "Major Townhouses of the Architect Victor Horta (Brussels)". UNESCO. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
- Hôtel Solvay to open as a museum
Bibliography
- Françoise Aubry and Jos Vandenbreeden, Horta, Art Nouveau to Modernism, Ludion Press Ghent — Harry N. Abrams Publishers New York, 1996.
External links
- www.hotelsolvay.be
- Hôtel Solvay on BALaT - Belgian Art Links and Tools (KIK-IRPA, Brussels)
- https://www.themayor.eu/en/a/view/art-nouveau-pearl-hotel-solvay-opens-to-the-public-7041
|  Flag of Belgium  | |
1 Listing shared with six other countries, which includes Belgium's Maison Guiette; 2 Listing shared with France; 3 Listing shared with the Netherlands, which includes Belgium's Wortel; 4 Listing shared with seven other countries, which includes Belgium's Spa; 5 Listing shared with seventeen other countries, which includes Belgium's Sonian Forest. | ||
