Abstract
Building site photographs are among the most spectacular archival documents available for Victor Horta's public commissions of the Brussels' Brugmann Hospital (1906-23) and the Palais des Beux-Arts (1922-28). This paper investigates how theseoften-published but rarely studied photographic documents functioned in the architectural practice. Archival documents in the construction of the Brugmann Hospital sheds light on the architect's use of building site photographs as an instrument to control the building proces from keeping record of the successive building stages up to their utility in addressing contractor's responsibilities in court. Horta's deloyment of images of the Palais des Beaux-Arts under construction in a monograph article illustrates their use as a tol of auto-representation. Both cases demonstrate a clear engagement in the medium of photogrpahy, quite in line with his involvement in the taking of pictures at the time of the early reception of his work or during his travels abroad.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | Building Knowledge, Construction Histories |
| Subtitle of host publication | Proceedings of the sixth international congress on construction history (6ICCH), Brussels, Belgium, 9-13 July 2018 |
| Editors | Ine Wouters, Stephanie Van de Voorde, Inge Bertels, Bernard Espion, Krista De Jonge, Denis Zastavani |
| Place of Publication | London |
| Publisher | CRC Press |
| Pages | 1295-1302 |
| Volume | Volume 2 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-0-429-50620-8 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-1-138-58414-3 |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 |