Antwerp

Antwerp-Deurne — the Boekenberglei and the architects’ own houses of Jef Huygh and Flor Van Reeth

On the Boekenberglei in Deurne, a row of houses illustrates the diversity of interwar Art Deco: at nos. 172 to 178 and 186 stand houses by Gustaaf Van Meel, François Toen and Jef Huygh, together with the architects’ own homes of Jef Huygh, the Lianahalle, and of Flor Van Reeth, both protected as monuments. The walk starts at Huygh’s De Beucker villas (1929) and continues via the Van Hersbekelei and the Jozef Verbovenlei to Eduard Van Steenbergen’s Van den Berghe house (1928) on the Wolfjagerslei.

9 stops · Duration 2h · Distance 1 km

Open the route on the map →

1. Villas De Beucker — Anvers

   Jef Huygh · 1929

   Ensemble of two mirror-image villas in sober Art Deco, designed in 1929 by Jef Huygh for the widow De Beucker, in Deurne; in or shortly after 1938, no.

2. Maison Leysen, Boekenberglei 186 — Anvers-Deurne

   Jef Huygh · 1935

   Townhouse in a restrained Art Deco style, built to a 1935 design by the architect Jef Huygh for Petrus Leysen-Scheyltjens by the Antwerp developer S.A.

3. Maison d'architecte Flor Van Reeth

   Flor Van Reeth · 1926

   This is the personal residence of the architect Flor Van Reeth, which he designed in Art Deco style in 1923-1924; the inventory also dates its construction to 1924-1926.

4. La Lianahalle, maison d'architecte Jef Huygh

   Jef Huygh · 1923

   The Lianahalle is a handsome town house in an expressive Art Deco style, built as the personal residence of the architect Jef Huygh to a design of 1923.

5. Maison Montrieux, Boekenberglei 174 — Anvers

   François Toen · 1928

   Art Deco town house built in 1928 for J. Montrieux to designs by the Antwerp builder François Toen, against Jef Huygh's Lianahalle.

6. Maison Boost — Anvers

   Gustaaf Van Meel · 1929

   Art Deco house designed in 1929 by architect Gustaaf Van Meel, who signed it, for Hubert Boost, in Deurne; it belongs to a row of houses on Boekenberglei illustrating the diversity of interwar Art Deco.

7. Maison Vercammen, Van Hersbekelei 11 — Anvers

   Edward Van Not · 1927

   Semi-detached town house designed in 1927 by the architect Edward Van Not, municipal architect of Deurne, for Ernest Vercammen, in a rich Art Deco style influenced by the Amsterdam School.

8. Maison Embrechts — Anvers

   Jos Sels-Vermeiren · 1932

   Semi-detached Art Deco multi-family house designed in 1932 by Jos Sels-Vermeiren for F.

9. Maison Van den Berghe

   Eduard Van Steenbergen · 1928

   This house was designed in 1928 by Eduard Van Steenbergen for Victor Van den Berghe, director of the Antwerp municipal libraries, who wrote the first monograph on the architect in 1955.

Translated from the French original.