Norwegian marble is not a building material commonly found in the suburbs of Brussels. But among the silver birch trees and ornate 18-century maisons privées on the Belgian capital's outskirts stands a home with a soaring tower built extravagantly from white Norwegian marble adorned with gold trim.

Built in 1912 as the family home of a wealthy Belgian banker and arts patron, and known as the Palais Stoclet, it was conceived as a striking work of art, equal to the most famed paintings that hung in Europe's museums. The Viennese architect Josef Hoffmann was indulged with an unlimited budget. Gustav Klimt was commissioned for a series of glittering mosaics to line the dining room walls, Fernand Khnopff's decorative panels lined the music room. Designers laboured to create silver fixtures for the bathrooms, and cutlery and candleholders studded with malachite cabochons, all to gleam on tables beneath chandeliers strung with pearls.