The Hôtel Solvay was designed and built by Horta, between 1895 and 1900, to serve as a private residence for Armand Solvay, the son of the chemist, industrialist and philanthropistErnest Solvay. For this wealthy patron, Horta could spend a fortune on precious materials and expensive details. He designed every single detail: furniture, carpets, light fittings, tableware and even the doorbell. He used expensive materials such as marble, onyx, bronze, tropical woods, etc. For the decoration of the staircase, he cooperated with the pointillist painter Théo van Rysselberghe.
The Hôtel Solvay and most of its content remained intact thanks to the Wittamer family. They acquired the house in the 1950s and did the utmost to preserve and restore this magnificent dwelling. The house is still private property and can only be visited by appointment and under very strict conditions. On 23 January 2021, the building began to operate as a museum,[4] and currently accept visitors five days a month on selected timeslots.
Major renovation works to the Hôtel Solvay's façade began in March 2022,[5] and its exterior is currently entirely covered in scaffolding.[6] While the scaffolding was planned to be dismantled in time for the Brussels Art Nouveau Festival in summer 2023,[7] this deadline was ultimately missed; the renovations' current estimated completion date is unknown.
The four major town houses—Hôtel Tassel, Hôtel Solvay, Hôtel van Eetvelde, and Maison & Atelier Horta—located in Brussels and designed by the architect Victor Horta, one of the earliest initiators of Art Nouveau, are some of the most remarkable pioneering works of architecture of the end of the 19th century. The stylistic revolution represented by these works is characterised by their open plan, the diffusion of light, and the brilliant joining of the curved lines of decoration with the structure of the building.[3]
1 Listing shared with six other countries, which includes Belgium's Maison Guiette; 2 Listing shared with France; 3 Listing shared with the Netherlands, which includes Belgium's Wortel; 4 Listing shared with France 5 Listing shared with seven other countries, which includes Belgium's Spa; 6 Listing shared with seventeen other countries, which includes Belgium's Sonian Forest.
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