Immeubles Berger et « Belvédère » — Anvers

Ensemble of two Art Deco apartment buildings on the corner of Charlottalei and Consciencestraat, designed together in 1928 by the architect Louis Van Rijmenant for the merchant Paul Rosenblum (no. 34, “Belvédère”) and the Polish diamond dealer Leibus Berger (no. 32), and built, with their alterations, from 1928 to 1932. The white-stone façades, with a bluestone base and red brick infill in the piers, show a sculptural massing with strong vertical articulation (rising oriels, surrounds, corner quoins); Art Deco is expressed mainly in the crownings, such as the stepped crowning with fluting and garlands of no. 32, while the portals and ironwork still betray a Beaux-Arts influence. The polygonal corner of the “Belvédère” continues above the cornice as a belvedere; the ensemble is recorded in the Flemish architectural heritage inventory.

Translated from the French original.