Popular districts, Popular Art Nouveau ?

In working-class neighbourhoods, people were moving away from the art nouveau symbol of the bourgeoisie's success towards tenement buildings, shops, schools, cafés, cinemas...

Several architects (yes, Victor Horta wasn't the only one) tried their hand at this. They were keen to enhance the skills of the craftsmen: carpenters, goldsmiths, stonemasons, stained-glass artists, etc.

Few vestiges of this popular Art Nouveau style remain, having survived major building works and the pressure of the city centre. But you can still (re)discover them amidst shops and modern housing. Far from being total art nouveau residences, they bear witness to a philosophy: innovative architecture and an awareness of beauty and art for the less fortunate.