57. Waxweiler Hotel

The architects Constant Bosmans and Henri Vandeveld designed this Art Nouveau-inspired mansion in 1907 for Émile Waxweiler, a Belgian engineer, professor at the Université libre de Bruxelles and the first director of the Solvay Institute of Sociology. In 1908, the building was enhanced with decorative features on the façade (reliefs, stained-glass windows, grilles) and interior decoration by the architect Léon Sneyers, in the geometric Art Nouveau style. The interior spaces are strongly influenced by the Vienna Secession. A vaulted entrance vestibule leads to the large, oblong hall with rounded corners and a vaulted ceiling. A second, perpendicular hall houses the staircase leading to the upper floor, with a wrought-iron banister. In the sitting room, the library area retains its original bookshelves. The sitting room opens onto the dining room, which features a stucco-grooved ceiling and original panelling.