28. Villa Empain – Boghossian Foundation

This remarkable Art Deco villa was built between 1931 and 1934 by Swiss architect Michel Polak for the young Baron Louis Empain. The building is in keeping with early 20th century Viennese architecture, reminiscent of the Stoclet Palace built in Brussels 20 years earlier. The rigour and simplicity of the design contrast with the use of particularly luxurious materials (different types of marble, precious woods and abundant bronze). Long abandoned, it now houses the Boghossian Foundation, a centre for art and dialogue between Eastern and Western cultures.