Urban invites you to vote, to help restore this Brussels treasure.
For several years now, the Royal Institute for Artistic Heritage (KIK-IRPA) has organised its Heritage Challenge, which aims to raise awareness among all Belgians and bring them around their heritage, to ensure that these cultural treasures have the best possible care. The winning heritage will benefit from KIK-IRPA's services - study, preservation, restoration and valorisation - worth €25,000.
For the 4th edition of the Heritage Challenge, seven showpieces from Belgium's cultural heritage have been selected, all in need of urgent and long-term preservation and restoration work.
Among these showpieces is a masterpiece from Brussels: the interior of the delightful Art Deco villa at the van Buuren Museum & Gardens in Uccle.
While some of the furnishings of the house have already been restored over the past 15 years under the watchful eye of the experts from Urban, the next steps involve the elements that have remained unchanged for 100 years. It's a major challenge, and one that calls for in-depth examination to ensure that the various elements are handled with respect for the original materials and techniques.
A restoration which would fit in perfectly with the Art Deco 2025 programme, which will be run jointly by Urban and visit.brussels, with the collaboration of Patrimoine & Culture asbl, throughout the coming year.
Is Belgian heritage close to your heart? Make your voice heard!
Help decide which heritage treasure will be preserved and kept accessible for future generations: vote for your favourite showpiece up to and including 16 February 2025.
This competition has been organised for several years by KIK-IRPA and the National Lottery, to support the restoration of Belgium's exceptional heritage.
The van Buuren Museum & Gardens
Built in 1928 by David and Alice van Buuren, the villa is a veritable "living conservatory": the interior decor is a unique Art Deco ensemble, featuring antiques and an impressive collection of paintings by renowned artists from the 16th to the 20th centuries: Pieter Brueghel the Elder, James Ensor, Vincent Van Gogh, and others.
With its elegant furnishings, tapestries, wood panelling and outstanding stained-glass windows designed by renowned artists, the interior of the van Buuren Museum is a veritable 'freeze frame' that offers a unique insight into the interwar period.
In 1975, this private "house of remembrance" was transformed into a museum, as instructed in Alice van Buuren's will.
Unfortunately, this heritage is not immune to the effects of time: it urgently needs to be restored to preserve the atmosphere and savoir-faire of yesteryear. By voting for this architectural treasure, you will contribute to the restoration of its authentic furniture, textiles and woodwork, which are otherwise at risk of irreversible damage.
Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA)
KIK-IRPA is a federal scientific establishment dedicated to documenting, studying and preserving/restoring Belgium's heritage.
Teams from Urban and KIK-IRPA frequently work together to study and preserve Brussels' cultural heritage.
