The Municipal Hall (; ) of

Forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

is the

municipal hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

building and the seat of that municipality of

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, 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, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

History

Inception and construction

In the aftermath of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, 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 (), also known as Union Saint-Gilloise, Union SG or simply Union, is a Belgian professional Football club (association football), football club from Brussels based in Forest, Belgium, Forest. Founded in 1897 in the ne ...

Stadium in the Duden Park 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 a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, pa ...

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 Victor Rousseau (Feluy, 16 December 1865 – Forest, Belgium, Forest, 17 March 1954) also known as M. Victor Rousseau, was a Belgian sculptor and medalist. Biography Rousseau was of Walloons, Walloon heritage and descended from a line of st ...

, Georges Baltus, Canneel, Stoffyn and Tricot.

Damage and protection

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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

portal Portal may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), a series of video games developed by Valve ** ''Portal'' (video game), a 2007 video game, the first in the series ** '' Portal 2'', the 2011 sequel ** '' Portal Stori ...

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 listed as protected immovable heritage by 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 façades 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; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) 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 pinkish-orang ...

-sheeted statues. They are gilded with

gold leaf upA gold nugget of 5 mm (0.2 in) in diameter (bottom) can be expanded through hammering into a gold foil of about 0.5 m2 (5.4 sq ft). The Japan.html" ;"title="Toi gold mine museum, Japan">Toi gold mine museum, Japan. Gold leaf is gold that has ...

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 consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

, 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 remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , 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 remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s of the portal

Façades

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

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s whose blue stone capitals are adorned with masks from Greek tragedy or the mouths of animals (e.g. fish, felines) from which sometimes emerge drain pipes. The façades 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 aesth ...

s, the largest of which bears 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 Osteichthyes, bony fish in the genus ''Hippocampus''. The genus name comes from the Ancient Greek (), itself from () meaning "horse" and () meanin ...

. File:Bruzzel32.jpg, Capital with Greek tragedy mask File:Bruzzel34.jpg, Statue File:Forest 060106 (28).JPG, Drainpipe

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Vorst-Forest Town Hall Municipal and town halls in Brussels Forest, Belgium Protected heritage sites in Brussels Government buildings completed in 1938 Art Deco architecture in Belgium