The Former Wolfers store

1909 Victor Horta

Rue d’Arenberg 11-13 | Bruxelles

© urban.brussels
Stairwell and ground floor (photo 2008)
© KIK-IRPA, Brussels
Chair, small office, ground floor (photo 1971)
Horta Museum Archives, Saint-Gilles
Façade (old photo)
©KIK-IRPA, Brussels
Central mahogany window (1909, photo 1971)
© KIK-IRPA, Brussels
Mahogany window handle, first floor (1909, photo 1971)
Horta Museum Archives, Saint-Gilles
Rue d'Arenberg, photograph taken during construction (photo ca 1911-1913)

Victor Horta worked with goldsmith Philippe Wolfers and designed his store, which was located in the rue d’Arenberg, then a chic shopping area, in the shadow of the Cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula.


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The design of the façade is not very expressive, but one has to admire the elegant precision of its lines, from the undulating cornice above the first floor to the impressive, enormous columns on the fourth floor. The entire ground floor, where the silverware and jewellery were displayed in the shop window, is made of pure black granite especially imported from Sweden.

Horta had to take the requirements of Wolfers and his artisans into account. They needed two interior areas crowned with skylights to provide the workshops with sufficient light.
Unfortunately, the store’s furniture is no longer present (it is kept at the Art & History Museum, to which it was given by the Wolfers family).  However, as you enter, you can still see the beautiful staircase that led to elegant showrooms reserved for wealthy customers. You can likewise still see the stained glass windows, the Carrera marble staircases and their gilded railings. The walls of the showroom on the first floor are entirely covered in Lyon silk.

Nearby

By the same architect