Gustave Strauven

Gustave Strauven was born in Schaerbeek, Brussels, on 23 June 1878, the son of Arnold Strauven, a gardener from Limburg, Belgium, and Catherine Backaert. He began his career when he was 18 years old, as an assistant designer working with Victor Horta, helping him with the Hôtel van Eetvelde and the Maison du Peuple/Volkshuis in Brussels. Two years later, he spent one year in Zurich as a draftsman in an architectural office. He then returned to Brussels, where he became a prominent architect in the Art Nouveau movement.

Mobilised during World War I, Strauven died of his injuries on 19 March 1919 in a hospital in Haute-Savoie, France. He was only forty years old. All his work was completed in less than twenty years.

The Saint-Cyr House is Strauven's most important building, built between 1901 and 1903 in a flamboyant Art Nouveau style. It was built to serve as a private residence for the painter and decorator George Léonard de Saint-Cyr [fr].^[1] The house is situated at 11, square Ambiorix/Ambiorixsquare in the Squares Quarter (eastern part of the City of Brussels). It is only 4 metres (13 ft) wide, but was given extraordinary height through Strauven's elaborate architectural inventions.^[1]

The façade is entirely covered by polychrome bricks and has a large amount of wrought iron, which is adorned with geometric motifs and ornate balustrades at each floor. The wrought iron mimics vegetation and the decorative elements occupy all the space available. Due to its extravagance, the building has been called Art Nouveau-Baroque.^[2] The interior is characterised by different styles, varying according to the rooms.^[1]

The house had been in a poor state of repair, but as of March 2013, has been restored to its former splendour by the architect Francis Metzger, from the architectural office MA² - Metzger et Associés Architecture.^[3]

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  Saint-Cyr House
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  Entrance fence
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  Wrought iron balconies
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  Gable