Hôtel van Eetvelde


The Hôtel van Eetvelde is a town house designed in 1895 by Victor Horta for Edmond van Eetvelde, administrator of Congo Free State. It is located at 4, avenue Palmerston/Palmerstonlaan in Brussels, Belgium.
Together with three other townhouses of Victor Horta, including Horta's own house and workshop, it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2000, as the core of epoch-making urban residences Victor Horta designed before 1900.

Building

The visible application of "industrial" materials, such as steel and glass, was a novel for prestigious private dwellings at the time. In the Hôtel van Eetvelde, Horta also used a hanging steel construction for the facade. The interior receives additional lighting through a central reception room covered by a stained glass cupola.
An extension to the house was designed by Horta in 1898. This building has a more conventional, beautifully detailed, sandstone facade. It was designed to house a garage, an office for van Eetvelde, as well as supporting apartments, and therefore had a separate entrance at 2, avenue Palmerston/Palmerstonlaan.

Awards

The UNESCO commission recognised the Hôtel van Eetvelde as UNESCO World Heritage in 2000, as part of the listing 'Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta':