Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta (Brussels)
| Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta (Brussels) | |
|---|---|
| Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List | |
Staircase in the Tassel House
|
|
| Location | Belgium |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, ii, iv |
| Reference | 1005 |
| UNESCO region | Europe and North America |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2000 (24th Session) |
The Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta is an assemblage of four houses in the city of Brussels in Belgium which have been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. All four houses were designed and built by the Belgian architect Victor Horta (1861–1947) who pioneered the Art Nouveau style during the mid 1890s.
Victor Horta was born in Ghent, Belgium in 1861 and lived for several years in Paris before returning to Belgium to work as an architect in 1880. He achieved rapid success, working on several prestigious buildings and receiving a number of official posts including a position at the Free University of Brussels. From 1892, Horta began working in the new Art Nouveau style. In 1893, he designed the Hôtel Tassel which is considered the first example of Art Nouveau architecture. He applied the same style to many subsequent buildings, including the Hôtel Solvay (built 1895-1900), Hôtel van Eetvelde (1895–98) and his own house and workshop (1898). Among the architects who were inspired by Horta's works of the period are Antoni Gaudí and Hector Guimard.
During World War I, Horta went into exile in the United Kingdom and the United States. On returning to Belgium, Horta modified his styles in subsequent buildings, moving away from Art Nouveau towards Art Deco or Modernist styles to take account of changing popular tastes. He died in 1947.
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