The stately mansion on Avenue Louise was built in 1902 for lawyer and industrialist Octave Aubecq. Despite protests, the house was demolished in 1950. Jean Delhaye, a student and patron of Horta’s work, managed to salvage the facade—including stones, window frames, doors, and balconies—from the demolition containers.
After that, the 600 recovered stones from the facade began a long journey, moving from one vacant lot or storage facility to another. In 2001, the bricks became the property of the Brussels Region, after which they were cleaned and digitized in 3D, before being temporarily displayed to the public in 2011.
Stones with a Future
The Aubecq facade, which was recognized as movable cultural heritage in 2014, is finally receiving the visibility it deserves. It was reconstructed on a horizontal plane at the Constructiv premises in Sint-Agatha-Berchem.
This initiative is part of an unprecedented public-private partnership between Urban and Constructiv, which is developing a training center for construction and heritage professions in Sint-Agatha-Berchem. The flat arrangement of the preserved elements is intended to make the remains of this masterpiece accessible to the public and also to serve as an educational tool for the artisans of tomorrow. In the longer term, a sustainable, full or partial reconstruction of the facade on the site is being considered.
