Belgium

The great commissions — monumental Art Deco

Charleroi town hall, Antwerp’s Boerentoren, the Heysel Palace, Villa Empain and the Robert Catteau Athénée: large-scale commissions, public and private, that show the scope of Art Deco programmes between the wars.

5 stops · Duration nationwide · Distance multi-villes

Open the route on the map →

1. Hôtel de ville de Charleroi

   Jules Cézar & Joseph André · 1936

   A blend of classicism and Art Deco, Charleroi town hall came out of an architectural competition launched in 1930.

2. Boerentoren (KBC Tower)

   Jan Vanhoenacker, Jos Smolderen, Emiel Van Averbeke · 1931

   A tower of shops, offices and apartments built in 1928-1931 for the Algemeene Bankvereeniging to plans by Jan Vanhoenacker, Jos Smolderen and Emiel Van Averbeke; at around 87 m, it

3. Palais du Heysel — Centenaire (Bruxelles Expo)

   Joseph Van Neck · 1935

   Heysel exhibition park: the first five palaces, including the Centenary Palace (Palais 5, or Grand Palais), were designed from 1931 by chief architect Joseph Van Neck with engineer

4. Villa Empain (Fondation Boghossian)

   Michel Polak & Alfred Hoch · 1934

   A temple of Brussels Art Deco, commissioned in 1930 by Baron Louis Empain from Michel Polak and his partner Alfred Hoch.

5. Athénée Robert Catteau

   François Malfait · 1927

   School of the City of Brussels built by François Malfait from 1923 to 1927 on the site of the former Minimes convent.

Translated from the French original.