Towards an architecture of simplification? Victor Horta's lectures on American architecture in the 1920s University of Antwerp
The Belgian architect Victor Horta (1861-1947) spent most of the First World War in the United States. Over the course of three years, from December 1915 to January 1919, he explored how the American skyscrapers, standardized dwellings and ingenious urban planning might serve as a model for a modern, post-war Belgium. Yet Horta's memoirs had very little to say about his discussion of American architecture or any influence his travels might have ...