Autrique House

1905 Victor Horta

Chaussée de Haecht 266 | Schaerbeek

Ch. Bastin & J. Evrard © urban.brussels
Corridor, foot of the staircase, ground floor (photo ca 1990)
© KIK-IRPA, Brussels
Façade (old photo)
Central room, first floor (undated photo)
Ch. Bastin & J. Evrard © urban.brussels
Stained glass skylight, first mezzanine (photo ca 1990)
Kitchen, basement (undated photo)

Situated in the heart of Schaerbeek, the Autrique townhouse opens its doors to you. Discover one of the first buildings created by the young architect Victor Horta, who was beginning to find his own personal way and whose name would become synonymous with a single style: Art Nouveau.


Protected heritage in Brussels Learn more Inventory of architectural heritage
Eugène Autrique, who had a limited budget, was considering a rendered façade. However, Horta managed to persuade him to spend more on this façade and to use French white stone. Red mortar joints accentuated this stonework.
The grille above the door is inspired by the letter A in his client’s surname.
To make the house appear more spacious, Horta replaced the usual pair of dormers, which are always set in the slope of the roof (and which you can see on all the neighbouring houses on the street), with a false loggia decorated with sgraffiti motifs. This gave more distinction to the upper bedrooms belonging to the children.

The most innovative decorative features are concentrated in the stairwell: the mosaic with its floral motif, an original design for the foot of the staircase, and a Japanese-inspired stained glass window depicting a fruit tree and irises.

This house museum can be visited during opening hours. It has been restored with care and bestows its charm on every visitor as though he or she had been personally invited by Mr Autrique.

Nearby

By the same architect