Jette’s iconic Withuis restored and ready for temporary guided visits

Following several years’ renovation work, architect Joseph Diongre’s modernist and Art Deco masterpiece, the Withuis in Jette, is open to the public from 19 September to 22 November.

Guided tours of the property located on 183 Avenue Charles Woeste are organised by non-profit organisation Arkadia. There will also be an exhibition on Belgian artists of the geometric abstraction school between 1920 and 1928 – a movement that includes Jo Delahaut and Victor Sevranckx.

The house, which stands out for its roof terrace, ironwork and long bands of windows will then be available to rent, so that it fulfils its original purpose as a family home.

Diongre (1878-1963), also famous for the Flagey Building and a charming garden city in Molenbeek, built the house nearly 100 years ago – in 1927 – for the poet and municipal secretary Jef Mennekens (1877-1943). He referenced the poet by decorating the front garden railings with an inkstand and pen motif.

The Brussels-born architect also designed the interior decor, furniture for the dining room, lounge and bedroom, stained glass windows and lighting. In true ‘total art’ tradition, he was even responsible for the front and back gardens.

Remaining in the Mennekens family for four generations until the death of Daisy Maistriaux-Mennekens in 2018, the Withuis, complete with its original furniture, has been listed since 1985.

Led by Goeminne Architects & Partners and Architectures Parallèles, with support from urban.brussels, restoration work focused on the façade, window frames, joinery and interior spaces.

Surveys, research and analyses carried out by the Royal Institute for Artistic Heritage made it possible to rediscover colours, textures and finishes obscured by subsequent alterations. In particular, the stairwell has been restored to its original two-tone black and ochre yellow.

Textured plasterwork, stained-glass windows, ceilings and items of furniture have also been restored and retained on site – either in their original rooms or in a specially fitted-out space if the pieces are no longer suitable for everyday use. A skylight, included in Diongre’s 1926 plans, has also been installed above the stairwell.

More than 20 trades were involved in this restoration, notably with craftsmen re-learning certain traditional techniques. Experts used included granito/terrazzo restorers, plasterers and stucco artisans, artistic blacksmiths and ironworkers and master glassmakers.

The Brussels Region also played a key role: contributing around €260,000 towards the works as part of its policy to preserve and promote listed heritage, via urban.brussels.

Visits will take place from 19 September to 22 November on Thursdays and Fridays at 14.00, 15.15 and 16.30. Photography – and stiletto heels – are not allowed.

Photos: (main image) Withuis ©Ardadia; Withuis interior and exterior ©BE CULTURE; Marthe Donas - Sous la Lampe @BE CULTURE