Détail du chapiteau d'un colonne du Palais de Beaux-Arts

The Building

Four Aspects of the Architecture

The Centre for Fine Arts has a history of almost 100 years. The story began with the architect Victor Horta, who was given the task to design this building in 1919. He traded the sinuous lines of art nouveau for the geometric language of form of Art Deco. In his memoirs, he calls the Palace a high point in his career. We asked our experts what makes the architecture of this cultural house so special.

Challenges

Stéphane Vanreppelen tells us more about the challenges and difficulties Victor Horta faced when he was asked by the city of Brussels to design the Centre for Fine Arts.

Light

Barbara Van der Wee is an architect and the current master builder of the Centre for Fine Arts. She talks about how Horta brought light into his building in every possible way to highlight the arts.

Temporality

Francis Carpentier takes a look at the way artists and architects have worked with the building over the centuries. How did Horta's architecture, which can be both a blessing and a challenge, inspire them?

Restoration

Barbara Van der Wee has been the architect of the Centre for Fine Arts for 15 years. She is in charge of the restoration works. How do you tackle such a large project? And how do you deal with unpredictable situations such as a fire?