Supervisor: Denis Derycke
Submitted on June 2022
Original title: Hypothèse de restitution de la Salle de Musique de chambre du Palais des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles.
The Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels is an architectural masterpiece in the Art Deco style, designed by Victor Horta and built between 1922 and 1929. While the Henry Le Boeuf Hall is the largest, most luxurious, and best-known space dedicated to performing arts, the Chamber Music Hall was also a remarkable space, both in terms of its decoration and acoustics. Two transformations, one in 1959 and another in 1987, significantly altered this space and its original decor. Based on various archival analyses, including the original plans from the Fonds Blaton (the contractor responsible for the Palais construction), this research synthesizes knowledge about the space within a 3D model. The goal is to recreate the hall’s initial state as it was when it was unveiled in November 1928, exactly as envisioned by the architect. Jos Vandenbreeden (KUL) and Benjamin Zurstrassen (Horta Museum) contributed their expertise to this work. After Bertrand Venu completed the research, Michel Lefèvre took over to apply colors and textures to the 3D model, as well as create visual representations. This research was part of the Horta versus Art Nouveau exhibition held at the Horta Museum from March 2023 to June 2024.