Magasins Waucquez: interior

The Magasins Waucquez was originally a department store specializing in textiles. In its design, Horta used all his skill with steel and glass to create dramatic open spaces and to give them an abundance of light from above. The steel and glass skylight is combined with decorative touches, such as neoclassical columns. The store closed in 1970, and now a museum, the Belgian Comic Strip Center.

In this building, Horta was fully committed to architecture. Functional purpose comes to the fore, combined with a Classicist feeling for form, as seen in the ceiling bearers. This would become the mark of his work in the coming years.