arts

Roosenboom House: Saving an Art Nouveau Masterpiece in Brussels

Back in the 1960s, Brussels tore down hundreds of Art Nouveau buildings, including acclaimed masterpieces such as the Volkshuis built by Ghent architect Victor Horta. Not any more. The city now cherishes each of the 500 or so buildings that have survived. These remarkable houses and shops are seen as part of the city’s cultural identity.

One of the most striking Art Nouveau houses was restored in 2023 by its new owners. Built by the Belgian architect Albert Roosenboom in 1900, it looks down the street where Victor Horta’s Tassel House launched the Art Nouveau movement in 1893.

The Roosenboom House is one of the most flamboyant houses in Brussels. The façade is decorated with sgraffito panels, wrought iron railings and a beautiful carved letterbox combined with a boot-scraper.

The house had been abandoned and neglected for many years. It was almost torn down. But the new owners worked with the city’s urban office to restore every detail of the house so that it looks as good as it did in 1900. The fastidious restoration even revealed the architect’s signature carved in the stonework. (The name Roosenboom came from the architect’s Dutch father).

banad.brussels/en
admirable-facades.brussels/en

 

• Art Nouveau
• Victor Horta