"If it is correct that logic is the basis of a creator's slightest reasoning, I believe that it must not be allowed to interfere with one's dreams of "charm", that delicate superfluous entity which often adds to harsh necessity'"VICTOR HORTA

Works and influence ofVICTOR HORTA

• Victor, Baron Horta (6 January 1861 - 8 September 1947) was a Belgian architect and designer.

• One of the key European Art Nouveau architecths

• is sometimes credited as the first to introduce the style to architecture from the decorative arts, especially in Belgium.

http://www.victor-horta.com/images/artist/501362.jpg

1880, he returned to Belgium and moved to Brussels

Early life• Born and raised in Ghent ; Born in the family of a

shoemakerBIRTH

6 JANUARY 1861

1873STUDY MUSICAL

THEORY 

• In 1873, went to study musical theory at the Ghent Conservatory

• Expelled for misbehaviour. Joined Department of Architecture at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent

1878 LEFT FOR PARIS

• Found work with architect and designer Jules Debuysson in Montmartre

1880DEATH OF

FATHER; RETURN TO BRUSSELS

• Went to study architecture at Academie Royale Des Beaux-Arts

Taken as assistant by his professor Alphonse Balat, architect to Leopold II of Belgium- together designed Royal Greenhouses of Laeken(Horta's first work to use glass and iron)

1881ASSISTANT;

FIRST GLASS & IRON WORK

Image 1 : http://passages.altaplana.be/galerie/1Bruxelles/jarroyGen.htm

Image 1 : Winter Garden

Section

Site Plan

Image 1: The Dome

Image 2: http://www.flickr.com/photos/daphnewaynebough/4531930532/lightbox/

Image 2 : The Cupola

Image 3: http://www.flickr.com/photos/daphnewaynebough/4531945786/

Image 3 : Winter Garden - Inside

Image 4: Ornamentation on ribs

Image 4: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bruxelles5/4544262546/in/photostream/

Image 5: Detailing of the DomeImage 5: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jfreund1/8707076680/in/photostream/

Image 6 : Ornamentation of Door Handles

Image 6: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bruxelles5/4544259496/

Image 1 :http://www.johncoulthart.com/feuilleton/2011/03/01/the-royal-greenhouses-of-laeken/

1884 WON THE FIRST

PRIX GODECHARLE

• awarded for achitecture(for his unbuilt project for Parliament) as well as the Grand Prix on leaving the royal academy.

1885STARTED

INDIVIDUAL PRACTICE

• 3 houses that yr. joined central society of Belgian architecture.

1892ART NOUVEAU

EXHIBITION

• Horta was inspired. Commissioned to design a home for professor Emile Tassel, he transfused the recent influences into Hôtel Tassel, completed in 1893

1915LEFT FOR LONDON

• attended the Town Planning Conference on the Reconstruction of Belgium, organised by the International Garden Cities and Town Planning Association.

• Unable to return ,due to the war, went to the United States, gave lectures at universities including Cornell, Harvard, MIT, Smith College, Wellesley College and Yale and, in 1917, became Professor of Architecture at George Washington University, and Charles Eliot Norton Memorial Lecturer

TYPICAL BELGIAN HOUSEShttp://www.caans-acaen.ca/Journal/issues_online/Issue_VI_ii_1985/Tsihlias.pdf

He revolutionized the typical traditional Plan of the private houses from Brussels (three adjoining rooms) by means of An organic ornamental form. (As can be seen of Hotel Tassel)

consider to be the first Art Nouveau building, TASSEL HOUSE.  an alternate "take" on historical styles, and the modern materials of iron and glass. The stone exterior includes the consoles, mouldings, and columns of classical architecture. But the columns are iron, not stone. The building had a smooth, fluid façade, unlike the carefully articulated planes of true classical buildings. 

http://hanser.ceat.okstate.edu/6083/Horta/Tassel/Victor%20Horta;%20Brussels,%20Tassel%20House,%201893-5,%20section2.JPGhttp://hanser.ceat.okstate.edu/Victor_Horta__Brussels_Tassel_House_1893-5_int__floorABF.jpg

PLAN

FACADE

HÔTEL TASSEL

formal AnalysisSupported and supporting elements

Metal structureFine wrought iron columns:

- Built-in support (you can do without bearing walls). free plant

Decorative function, especially capitals.

Rafters, and iron sight (element of the set)

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Its shape is narrow and deep justified because Brussels is not exceeded the ground and the house suited to the unlikely soil. No clash around

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Facade with large areas of glass to improve interior lighting. Wavy.

Building of three floors and an attic:

1st floor: windows separated by stone columns.

2nd floor: gallery with high iron columns and glass.

3rd floor: terrace with iron railings.

Decorative elements of the facade very original for the time.

Walls covered with stone masonry.

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Stone columns separate windows

Columns metal gate very original

3rd floor terrace

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It integrates all the arts, the interior being very important, taking care to detail in the decoration: door knobs, railings, gates, mosaics, wall paintings, lamps, furniture, etc..

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http://hanser.ceat.okstate.edu/6083/Horta/Tassel/Victor%20Horta;%20Brussels,%20Tassel%20House,%201893-5,%20section2.JPGhttp://hanser.ceat.okstate.edu/Victor_Horta__Brussels_Tassel_House_1893-5_int__floorABF.jpg(http://hanser.ceat.okstate.edu/6083/Horta/Tassel/Brussels-Hotel%20Tassel,%20ext.%20facade.jpg)

SECTION

HÔTEL TASSEL

PART SECTION

http://hanser.ceat.okstate.edu/Victor_Horta__Brussels_Tassel_House_1893-5_int__atrium.jpghttp://hanser.ceat.okstate.edu/Victor_Horta__Brussels_Tassel_House_1893-5_int__detl.3CF.jpg

VESTIBULE

MODEL

PLAN

Window detail

Mail Slothttp://www.berkshirefinearts.com/04-07-2011_victor-horta-s-art-nouveau.htm

External Façade Windowshttp://humanandnatural.com/details.php?image_id=947&sessionid=jc5a21pvqvj60ai6quuic0dsr3

1901 HOTEL VAN ETVELDE

Horta found it the best expression to his ideas. His skill is demonstrated in his ability to slip his domestic designs into narrow constricted sites. The interiors become of great importance as centres of light, which permeates through the filigree domes and skylights—usually in the centre of the building. The Hotel van Eetvelde is a remarkable example of the way Horta handled the situation and used it to highlight the imposing staircase, which leads up to the first-floor reception rooms."

http://data.greatbuildings.com/gbc/drawings/van_Eetvelde_Section.jpg

1901 HOTEL VAN ETVELDE - ELEVATION

http://data.greatbuildings.com/gbc/drawings/van_Eetvelde_Front_Elev.jpg

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Recessed ground floor with the first and second floors resting on iron consoles

The facade has bays with arched windows and exposed metalwork.

Iron Consoles

http://www.bluffton.edu/%5C~sullivanm/belgium/brussels/eetvelde/horta.html

The top story with carved tendrils in stone and elaborate ironwork

Carved stone

ironwork

 mosaic decoration on the facade

http://www.bluffton.edu/%5C~sullivanm/belgium/brussels/eetvelde/horta.html

http://www.bluffton.edu/%5C~sullivanm/belgium/brussels/eetvelde/0186.jpghttp://www.bluffton.edu/%5C~sullivanm/belgium/brussels/eetvelde/0188.jpg

Gate Detail Front Door

Central hall

Light Well

Door Handle Detail

http://www.corbisimages.com/images/Corbis-42-20374582.jpg?size=67&uid=5f8ce394-bc05-4611-a253-831bb18737dd

1919RETURNED BRUSSELS

1928PALAIS DES 

BEAUX-ARTS 

1932BARON

1947DEATH

• Sold his workshop workshop on the rue Américaine(American Street),and became full member of Belgian royal family

• Change of style , Art Deco and Cubist styles seen

• In recognition of his work, Horta was awarded the title of Baron byAlbert I of Belgium in 1932

• Died while working on his last project. Brussels Central Railway StationAnother shift- to Modernism.

• His colleagues led by Maxime Brunfaut completed his plans.

1952 • The Brussels Central Railway station was finally opened

finally built between 1923 and 1928) which associates the demands of the site with a noble simplicity, reflecting Horta’s refinement and ideas of course but without neglecting his mission : enhancing the museum’s future collections.

PALAIS DES BEAUX-ARTS

Museum in Tournai

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On the rue Royale/Koningsstraat, higher up the hill, the Centre was not permitted to spoil the king’s view of the lower town. The height of the building was therefore strictly limited and the majority of the "Palace" was built underground.

Horta was working on Brussels-Central railway station when he died in 1947, and the building was completed to his plans by his colleagues led by Maxime Brunfaut. It eventually opened on 4 October 1952

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1861 – Birth1873- went to study music1878 – left for paris1880- death of father1884 – won Prix Godecharle1885- own practice starts1888- joins freemasons 1892 – head of graphic design at universitie libre; attended art nouveau exhibition1893 – returned to design houses n shops; promoted to prof; hotel tassel completed1898- his own residence1901 – hotel van eetvelde1915- left for london1919 – returns to belgium1927- director, academe royale des beaux arts1932 – Named Baron1947- Death

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TRANSITION THROUGH LIFE

HÔTEL TASSELHOTEL VAN ETVELDE

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THE BRUSSELS CENTRAL RAILWAY STATION PALAIS DES BEAUX-ARTS

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Victor Horta used· Iron railings in curved lines· Stenciled walls and ceilings· Mosaic floor tiles· Irregular shapes· Exposed cast iron structurally· A centralised floor plan· Glass and iron facades · Asymmetrical balance· White tiles· Muted colours (olive, mustard, sage, brown gold, salmon…)

Typical Details of Horta’s Buildings

Influences on Horta

Philosophy of innovation : Iron was only accepted for industrial use, his philosophy was based on apparent use of iron framework used in a very efficient manner

http://www.vub.ac.be/ARCH/ae-lab/publications/SAHC_full_paper_D26_Quentin_Collette(Belgium).pdf

Beams used by him

 "My stay in Paris, walking the city streets, visiting the monuments and museums

threw wide open the windows of my artistic soul. No school could have done more to tire me with an

enthusiasm for architecture than viewing and deciphering those monuments - an

enthusiasm that has never left me." (Mémoires, p.8)

Victor HortaInfluence of Paris

Inspiration were drawn from theories of ‘ Eugene Viollet – le – Duc’ – projects based on an imp notion of rationality.

“It is necessary to step back from traditional architectural rules and to privilege a consistency and a strong coherence between the plan, the façade and the purpose of the building.”

“ Use of a new material had to be reflected by the usage of new forms”

http://chateauroquetaillade.free.fr/Anciens/Viollet%20le%20Duc.jpg

Eugene Viollet le Duc

The Art Nouveau MovementArt Nouveau Movement considered that each material should be presented by its own formal expression. As a student of Alphonse Balat, Horta was highly influenced by the Art Nouveau theories.

Biblography• http://www.vub.ac.be/ARCH/ae-lab/publications/

SAHC_full_paper_D26_Quentin_Collette(Belgium).pdf• http://www.caans-acaen.ca/Journal/issues_online/

Issue_VI_ii_1985/Tsihlias.pdf• http://visitbrussels.be/bitc/BE_en/content/2791/victor-horta-

and-brussels.do• http://www.hortamuseum.be/en/horta-en/biography• George Kohlmeir, House of Glass• http://www.monarchie.be/palace-and-heritage/greenhouses-

laeken• http://www.johncoulthart.com/feuilleton/2011/03/01/the-royal-

greenhouses-of-laeken/Hemant kandpalPrashansha sachdeva