La Maison Saint-Cyr: the Baroque audacity of Gustave Strauven

Jean-Marc Delcroix
20 October 2025

On one of Brussels’ most elegant urban thoroughfares, where Ambiorix Square spreads its foliage like an English garden, stands a façade that defies all measure. Only four metres wide, but so richly ornamented that it seems to contain the entire soul of the Belle Époque.

When Art Nouveau reached its peak on Ambiorix Square

In 1903, Gustave Strauven, a prodigy of Brussels architecture at only 23 years of age, created one of his most breathtaking masterpieces here. The Maison Saint-Cyr embodies “Baroque Art Nouveau”: a decorative extravaganza where polychrome bricks compose a chromatic symphony and floral ironwork winds its way with the sensuality of wisteria.

Its sale naturally aroused the enthusiasm of the Belgian media, from RTBF to La Libre, VRT NWS and Trends Tendances, all hailing the rare opportunity to acquire one of the finest examples of European Art Nouveau.

A restoration in the form of a tribute

Between 2008 and 2019, the residence underwent restoration work that was as much an archaeological quest as it was a declaration of love. The result: 436 square metres where heritage dialogues with contemporary comfort without ever betraying the spirit of the place.

Crossing the threshold on the main floor, you enter a hall where light plays with the stucco and woodwork as if in a painting by Fernand Khnopff. The main living room reveals itself, majestic, supported by dizzyingly high ceilings.

The art of vertical living

On the first floor, the former dining room retains the memory of the Chinese salon it once was, with its orientalist flourishes so beloved at the time. Today, it connects to a kitchen featuring a La Cornue stove, a masterpiece of French culinary craftsmanship.

The second floor houses a spacious 40-square-metre master suite, where the bedroom and palatial bathroom form an intimate retreat. Higher up, two attic bedrooms each have their own shower room, embodying that Brussels elegance that knows how to turn a confined space into a precious setting.

On the fourth floor, a multipurpose room opens onto a large panoramic terrace. Facing the leafy Square Ambiorix, the view takes in one of the most beautiful urban landscapes in Europe.

Light as a guiding principle

The true genius of this house lies in its luminous verticality. The stairwell under the glass roof and the glass walkways transform movement through the house into an aerial promenade. It is a house of light, a prism of a house where each level benefits from rare natural light.

The semi-basement offers a secondary kitchen and a versatile space with multiple possibilities: wine cellar, cinema room, artist’s studio.

A living heritage

Listed as part of Brussels’ architectural heritage, Maison Saint-Cyr is not a static museum. It is a living residence that embraces contemporary life while preserving its identity. It belongs to that rare category of architecture which, through its visionary power, remains eternally modern.

Living here means inhabiting a work of art and writing a new chapter every day in the history of one of the most daring manifestos of European Art Nouveau. A rare privilege, now offered exclusively by Christie’s International Real Estate.