Maison du Peuple

Geschiedenis

The Maison du Peuple or Volkshuis, both literally translated as The People’s Home or The People’s Hostel, was a public building in Brussels which was one of the most notable design by Belgian architect Victor Horta. It was one of the most influential buildings of the Art Nouveau design in Belgium. It was commissioned by the Belgian Workers' Party and opened on 2 April 1899.Constructed between 1896 and 1899, it was demolished in 1965, and a skyscraper was built on site. Its demolition has been regarded as an "architectural crime" and an example of "Brusselization".BuildingIn spite of a rather restrictive very irregular building place along a circular square and on a slope, Horta succeeded to construct a building with maximum functionality. The building provided rooms for several aims like offices, coffee shops, shops, meeting rooms and a party hall. The building had been mainly constructed in white iron (more than 600,000 kilogrammes). Fifteen craftsmen worked for eighteen months on the iron work. To make this construction possible, Horta drew no less than 8,500 square meters of plans. The building was completed in 1899 and was considered a master work. Because of the experimental combination of brick, glass and steel this building was considered as an example of modern architecture.It was situated on Place Emile Vandervelde, near to the Sablon.DemolitionIn spite of an international protest movement of over 700 architects, the building was demolished in 1965. The building was dismantled entirely with the idea of rebuilding it elsewhere. However, the components of the building were scattered in vacant lots around Brussels, and the building was never reconstructed. Later, structural parts of the building were used in the Horta Grand Café in Antwerp.