Building
© Fondation CIVA Stichting Brussels
Avenue Vanderaey 118, Louise Sèthe in her house (ca 1897)
Avenue Vanderaey 118, Louise Sèthe in her house (ca 1897)
© Fondation CIVA Stichting Brussels
Avenue Vanderaey 118, entrance gate (c. 1980)
Avenue Vanderaey 118, entrance gate (c. 1980)
© Bildarchiv Foto Marburg
Avenue Vanderaey 118, north-west façade after extension work (c. 1917)
Avenue Vanderaey 118, north-west façade after extension work (c. 1917)
© Bildarchiv Foto Marburg
Avenue Vanderaey 118, main façade after removal of the benches and ironwork from the entrance (c. 1910)
Avenue Vanderaey 118, main façade after removal of the benches and ironwork from the entrance (c. 1910)
in REHME, W., Die Architektur der neuen freien Schule, Leipzig, Baumgärtner’s Buchhandlung, s.d. (ca 1901), pl. 57
Avenue Vanderaey 118, main façade (ca 1901)
Avenue Vanderaey 118, main façade (ca 1901)
© Bildarchiv Foto Marburg
Avenue Vanderaey 118, rear façade after extension work (ca. 1917)
Avenue Vanderaey 118, rear façade after extension work (ca. 1917)
© Fondation CIVA Stichting Brussels
Avenue Vanderaey 118, entrance gate on Rue Colonel Chaltin (c. 1980)
Avenue Vanderaey 118, entrance gate on Rue Colonel Chaltin (c. 1980)
Louise Sèthe made over part of a large plot of land she owned in Uccle to her architect son-in-law Henry Van de Velde, who built his very first house (known as Bloemenwerf) on the site in 1895. Two years later, he used the rest of the land to build a small home for his mother-in-law, separated from his own by a hedge. With its main façade facing Bloemenwerf, the Sèthe House was, and still is, accessed through a beautiful double gate with a curving Art Nouveau design. Constructed on a sloping base of coloured rough sandstone, the property was originally made entirely of brick and stone and had an octagonal layout.
Old photos show a series of features characteristic of the architect: exterior steps with wooden arches incorporating benches, thin ribbon windows with shaped ironwork, and broad chimney stacks on profiled corbels.
The house was laid out around a hall, which was lit indirectly through the large glass doors of the living rooms. The cosy feel was reminiscent of Bloemenwerf, with rooms wallpapered in geometric patterns designed by the architect.
In 1917, a half-timbered cottage-style rear façade was added, in keeping with the big house next door. The Sèthe House was later extended in 1950, and has been reconfigured several times since then. Except for the entrance gates, it is now unrecognisable from its original self.
Nearby
By the same architect
Old photos show a series of features characteristic of the architect: exterior steps with wooden arches incorporating benches, thin ribbon windows with shaped ironwork, and broad chimney stacks on profiled corbels.
The house was laid out around a hall, which was lit indirectly through the large glass doors of the living rooms. The cosy feel was reminiscent of Bloemenwerf, with rooms wallpapered in geometric patterns designed by the architect.
In 1917, a half-timbered cottage-style rear façade was added, in keeping with the big house next door. The Sèthe House was later extended in 1950, and has been reconfigured several times since then. Except for the entrance gates, it is now unrecognisable from its original self.
