Building
Wikimedia Commons MarekF, CC BY-SA 3.0
Rue Defacqz 50, Hôtel René Janssens, 2011
Rue Defacqz 50, Hôtel René Janssens, 2011
Ch. Bastin & J. Evrard © urban.brussels
Rue Defacqz 50, Hôtel René Janssens, stairwell frescoes after restoration (circa 1995)
Rue Defacqz 50, Hôtel René Janssens, stairwell frescoes after restoration (circa 1995)
ARCHistory © urban.brussels
Rue Defacqz 50, Hôtel René Janssens, stairwell (2015)
Rue Defacqz 50, Hôtel René Janssens, stairwell (2015)
Archistory © urban.brussels
Rue Defacqz 50, Hôtel René Janssens, stairwell (2015)
Rue Defacqz 50, Hôtel René Janssens, stairwell (2015)
© Fondation CIVA Stichting Brussels
Rue Defacqz 50, Hôtel René Janssens, stairwell frescoes before restoration (c. 1990)
Rue Defacqz 50, Hôtel René Janssens, stairwell frescoes before restoration (c. 1990)
in Neubauten in Brüssel (Moderne Städtebilder abth. I), Berlin, E. Wasmuth, 1900, pl. 17
Rue Defacqz 50, Hôtel René Janssens, circa 1900
Rue Defacqz 50, Hôtel René Janssens, circa 1900
From 1896 onwards, on a large plot in Rue Defacqz, which was then in the throes of development, architect Paul Hankar and his painter friend René Janssens joined forces to design a house organised around an extensive stairwell and fitted out with a spacious studio on the street side.
The calm, geometric façade sets up a remarkable dialogue with the flamboyant neighbouring building. The original façade reveals how asymmetry played a key role in the composition. On the first floor, the flatness of the façade was interrupted by a Japanese-style timber oriel, supported by four elegant metal brackets. This marked the centrepiece of the house, the painter's studio, its full-width glass roof flooding the space with light.
While upward extensions in 1904 and 1908 kept the spirit of Hankar's design, later work on the building tried to erase its Art Nouveau features by giving the interior decor a more classical look.
A Europa Nostra Award-winning restoration carried out in the early 1990s uncovered wall paintings in the stairwell whose floral motifs perfectly matched the mahogany and red-fir timber of the staircase, as well the yellow stained glass of the roof lantern above. However, the walls were subsequently whitewashed.
Nearby
By the same architect
The calm, geometric façade sets up a remarkable dialogue with the flamboyant neighbouring building. The original façade reveals how asymmetry played a key role in the composition. On the first floor, the flatness of the façade was interrupted by a Japanese-style timber oriel, supported by four elegant metal brackets. This marked the centrepiece of the house, the painter's studio, its full-width glass roof flooding the space with light.
While upward extensions in 1904 and 1908 kept the spirit of Hankar's design, later work on the building tried to erase its Art Nouveau features by giving the interior decor a more classical look.
A Europa Nostra Award-winning restoration carried out in the early 1990s uncovered wall paintings in the stairwell whose floral motifs perfectly matched the mahogany and red-fir timber of the staircase, as well the yellow stained glass of the roof lantern above. However, the walls were subsequently whitewashed.
