The balcony of one of "The 5 Continents" Art Nouveau houses in Antwerp, Belgium


The Five Continents, were a group of four Art Nouveau buildings located near the Royal Museum of Fine Arts. As many other buildings in the 70's - one of the four was demolished by enthusiastic developers. The remaining ones (including this one) are now on the long list of protected monuments in Antwerp. The complex was commissioned by the thriving shipbuilder P. Rouis who added a boat (at Schildersstraat 2) to the original design of the architect, F. Smet-Verhas - A hint of Antwerp's maritime past. Construction year : 1901. The house has characteristic symmetrical shapes, arches and decorative surfaces with curved, plant-like designs and layers of yellow brick, which are typical for Antwerp Art nouveau architecture. Frans Smet-Verhas was a Belgian architect (born in Temse 1851 and died in Antwerp in 1925). He was one of the main players at the Art Nouveau scene in Antwerp at the end of the 19th and early 20th century. Besides Art Nouveau he also built in Flemish Neo-Renaissance style and Eclectic style.


Size: 5760px × 3840px
Location: Plaatsnijdersstraat 1, Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium, Western Europe
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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