x-default

Art-nouveau museum in Saint-Gillis reopens after years of renovation

Hotel Hannon, the Brussels Art-Nouveau mansion in Saint-Gillis, reopened as a museum on 1 June. The renovation of the building designed by Belgian architect Jules Brunfaut has been planned since 2019 but was delayed due to the pandemic.

After years of renovation work, the art nouveau museum Hotel Hannon or Hannon House has reopened in the Brussels borough of Saint-Gillis. The building intended for a married couple, Marie and Édouard Hannon, was constructed on the corner of Brugmannlaan and Verbindingslaan in Saint-Gillis in 1902. The couple commissioned their friend and architect Jules Brunfaut to design the house. Marie Hannon, a French national, brought French art-nouveau influences into the design of the house. The Hotel Hannon fills a unique position between Belgian and French art-nouveau styles.

After the death of the Hannons in 1965, the family sold the property. "For a while, squatters settled in the house and a lot of property was stolen," explains museum curator Grégory Van Aelbrouck. Briefly it was feared that the property would be demolished and replaced by a block of flats. The demolition was halted when the Royal Commission on Monuments and Sites listed the façades and roof in 1976. After a period of neglect, the municipality of Saint-Gillis bought the building in 1979, after the press had publicised the house’s deplorable state. In 1983, the property's interior was also listed.

Renovation

From 1983 onwards, Hannon House was restored bit by bit, and the Espace Photographique Contretype took up residence there in 1988. But from 2014 onwards, the place was again left to its fate. In 2019 it was decided to open the building as a museum together with the Horta Museum and continue the restoration.  The museum was supposed to open earlier, but due to the pandemic, there were delays.

The largest part of Hotel Hannon has been restored ahead of the opening to the general public. By 2030, curator Van Aelbrouck hopes the whole house will be renovated. "The house screams art nouveau, but in a more classical way than, say, a Victor Horta building," the curator says. In the future, the house should also become a venue where art nouveau architects are honoured.

x-default

First exhibition

The first temporary exhibition, "Belgian art nouveau", will run from 1 June 2023 to 5 June 2024. The collection includes vases, furniture, crockery and beds by Henry Van de Velde, Gustave Serrurier-Bovy, Paul Hankar and others. People wishing to enjoy more of Victor Horta's work can also visit the Horta Museum, a few streets away.

Top stories