Strauven house

A house squeezed onto a narrow plot. This is the story of the Strauven House. Here at number 11 Square Ambiorix stands a testament to the ingenuity of architect Gustave Strauven. Strauven, a former student of Victor Horta, designed this flamboyant Art Nouveau masterpiece in 1901 for the painter Georges de Saint-Cyr. Construction finished in 1903. The Strauven House is narrow, a mere 4 meters wide. Yet it soars upwards, a riot of wrought iron and polychrome brick. Strauven’s clients weren’t as wealthy as Horta’s. They often owned smaller, narrower plots. This limitation pushed Strauven to become a master of maximizing space and visual impact. Look closely at the façade. It’s a whirlwind of curvaceous woodwork and twisting ironwork. The elaborate wrought iron decoration at the top almost seems to defy gravity. Those railings? The city initially refused to approve them. Saint-Cyr, however, convinced the authorities they enhanced the neighborhood’s charm. Strauven’s design pushed boundaries. Some critics, resistant to his innovative style, called the Strauven House “epileptic macaroni.” This insult actually highlights the building’s radical modernity for its time. The Strauven House marked a shift in Art Nouveau, aligning it with socialist and anarcho-syndicalist ideals. This contrasted with the more bourgeois tendencies of the movement. Strauven’s architectural career was relatively brief. He left architecture in 1906, turning his inventive mind to other pursuits. He created a glass brick, a central heating system, and even a unicycle. Sadly, he died from wounds sustained during World War I in 1919. The Strauven House faced near demolition in 2006. The renovation costs were staggering. They even exceeded the purchase price of around 750,000 Euros. Thankfully, Movast, a company specializing in exceptional properties, stepped in. They meticulously restored the Strauven House to its original glory. The Strauven House stands today as a symbol of architectural resilience and artistic vision. It’s a reminder that even within constraints, extraordinary beauty can flourish.