The Municipal Hall (french: Hôtel communal, nl, Gemeentehuis) of

Forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

is the municipal hall building and the seat of that municipality of

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Belgium. Built between 1935 and 1938, and qualified as a prototype of Brussels' Art Deco, this building illustrates the leading role the style played in public architecture during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relative ...

History

Inception and construction

In the aftermath of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the municipal authorities of Forest wanted to build a municipal hall representative of its status as a flourishing suburb of Brussels. It was originally planned to build it on the site of the current

Royale Union Saint-Gilloise Royale Union Saint-Gilloise , abbreviated to Union SG or USG, unofficially simply called Union, is a Belgian football club originally located in the municipality of Saint-Gilles, in Brussels, although since the 1920s it has been based at the Jos ...

Stadium in the

Duden Park Duden Park (french: Parc Duden, nl, Dudenpark) is a public park located in the municipality of Forest in Brussels, Belgium. It covers and has a level difference of , with its highest point being at an elevation of . Duden Park is home to th ...

district but, after much discussion, it was decided to erect it instead on the grounds of the previous Municipal Hall, a neoclassical building dating from 1828, and in the place of a previous

parsonage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

from 1734. The current Municipal Hall was designed by the architect in 1925, and the municipal council approved the final plans in 1931. The first stone was officially laid on 19 May 1935 and the building was inaugurated on 9 July 1938. The building has important interior and exterior decorations made by such artists as Victor Rousseau, Georges Baltus, Canneel, Stoffyn and Tricot.

Damage and protection

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the Municipal Hall suffered from bombings in Forest that lead to serious damage to the facade and the entrance

portal Portal often refers to: *Portal (architecture), an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, or the extremities (ends) of a tunnel Portal may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), two video games ...

to the /. On 22 October 1992, the exterior, interior and furniture of the building were classified as protected cultural monuments by the Royal Commission for Monuments and Landscapes. Forest's Municipal Hall is also on the list of protected immovable heritage monuments of the Department of Monuments and Landscapes of the Brussels-Capital Region.

Architecture

The asymmetrical Municipal Hall has a sleek geometric design with a tower on the side. The facades are made of small orange bricks and are adorned with stylised statues.

Tower

The building is dominated by the tall silhouette of the tower, symbol of municipal freedoms and the independence of municipal power from the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. Placed asymmetrically with respect to the main building, this multi-storey tower is adorned with large

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...

-sheeted statues. They are gilded with

gold leaf Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets (usually around 0.1 µm thick) by goldbeating and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades. The most commonly used gold is 22-kara ...

and are the work of the sculptors Jacques Marin and Marnix d'Haveloose. File:Bruzzel27.jpg, Overview of the tower File:Bruzzel26.jpg, View of the tower's sculptures File:Forest 060106 (27).JPG, The upper part of the tower

Portals

The main

, located on the /, facing the park and at the foot of the tower, is made of blue stone. It gives access to the Wedding Room, located on the ground floor, and to a monumental staircase of black, grey and white

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

which leads to the Municipal Council Room. The second portal, located on the right side of the building, on the /, is smaller and gives access to the ticket and administrative offices. The capitals of the portals'

pillar A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

s are decorated with

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s that evoke family life and local trades such as brewing, laundry or shoemaking. File:Bruzzel43.jpg, Main

File:Bruzzel44.jpg, Closeup of the portal File:Bruzzel30.jpg,

Bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s of the portal

Facades

Combining orange brick and blue stone, the facades have numerous brick

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s whose blue stone capitals are adorned with masks from

Greek tragedy Greek tragedy is a form of theatre from Ancient Greece and Greek inhabited Anatolia. It reached its most significant form in Athens in the 5th century BC, the works of which are sometimes called Attic tragedy. Greek tragedy is widely believed t ...

or the mouths of animals (e.g. fish, felines) from which sometimes emerge drain pipes. The facades have many stepped

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aest ...

s, the largest of which bear representations of a

pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before ...

and a

seahorse A seahorse (also written ''sea-horse'' and ''sea horse'') is any of 46 species of small marine fish in the genus ''Hippocampus''. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek (), itself from () meaning "horse" and () meaning "sea monster" or ...

. File:Bruzzel32.jpg, Capital with

mask File:Bruzzel34.jpg, Statue File:Forest 060106 (28).JPG, Drainpipe

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * {{cite book, last=Van Cauwelaert, first=Guido, title=Modernisme Art déco, location=Sprimont, language=fr, publisher=Pierre Mardaga, year=2004, isbn=978-2-87009-871-4, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BJ-pyIPyEv4C Buildings and structures in Brussels City and town halls in Belgium Forest, Belgium Protected heritage sites in Brussels Art Deco architecture in Belgium