→ Presentation (FR) at 6.30 p.m. in ULB’s Victor Bourgeois auditorium
→ Place Flagey 19, 1050 Brussels
Urban and the La Cambre Horta Architecture Faculty are honoured to welcome Thierry Henrard & Thomas Greck, Benjamin Zurstrassen and Francis Metzger, who will be presenting the book “Horta avocat de Poelaert. La leçon du Palais de Justice”, published by Urban and CIVA.
This publication was initiated by CIVA and is co-edited by Urban as part of its policy of raising awareness for architecture and heritage, thereby enriching the scientific knowledge about this monument and steering the recognition of its exceptional universal value.
From the outset, it was supported by the Poelaert Foundation, which for several years now has been an advocate for renovating the palace and bringing together most of the judicial functions within its walls.
"Horta avocat de Poelaert. La leçon du Palais de Justice"
Entitled Horta avocat de Poelaert and subtitled La Leçon du Palais de Justice, the book is the result of research on unpublished archives, and traces the building's construction history and the many transformations it underwent, particularly after the collapse of its dome in 1944.
The architectural analysis of the Palais is based, among other things, on a text by Victor Horta - published in this book for the first time - which attempts to restore the building to its original coherence and legibility.
A richly illustrated collective work, the book (designed by Boy Vereecken) also highlights the similarities between the Palais and Horta's work, looks back at the building's international influence and questions the building's possible inclusion on the World Heritage List.
A photographic commission by Bas Princen confronts traces of the past with recent interventions. Finally, a programmatic text examines the future of the building's judicial function.
