Victor Horta, La Maison du Peuple, Brussels, (1896-1899)
This ambitious project which housed offices, shops, café and the very well documented auditorium (located on the second floor, which proved to be a relatively unhappy solution), was commissioned by Emil van de Velde and the Belgian Social Democratic Workers Party with much of the construction costs contributed by the party members themselves.
Fifteen craftsmen worked for eighteen months on the iron work, and to make this construction possible, Horta drew no less than 8,500 square meters of plans.
The building was completed in 1899 and due to the highly experimental combination of brick, glass and steel the structure was considered a master work.
Sadly, in spite of an international protest movement of over 700 architects, the building was demolished in 1965, it’s components scattered throughout the vacant lots lying on the outskirts of the city.
