Frans Smet-Verhas

He was one of the principal designers to employ Art Nouveau in Antwerp at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Following his marriage to Sophia Verhas, Frans Smet took the surname Smet-Verhas in 1887.

He designed two of the most famous Art Nouveau structures in the city: the eccentric House of the Five Continents (Huis de Vijf Werelddelen), finished in 1901, and the House of the Battle of Waterloo (Huis De Slag van Waterloo), built in 1905.

Before turning to Art Nouveau around 1900, he had constructed several buildings using eclectic and Flemish Renaissance-revival styles.

His son Arthur Smet (1886–1974) also became an architect and later taught Renaat Braem.