Once upon a time, Patrick wanted to build a new house in the woods of Flanders. He met the brave team of Low architecten who took on the quest to design easy and livable spaces with one square window positioned towards the house of the sister next door. No, we wont continue with a Hans and Gretel-like story, instead we’ll talk serious architecture! Read the rest of this entry »
21
May
2013
May
2013
Patrick’s House
7
May
2013
May
2013
Bridging the Gap
No, we’re not speaking proverbially, instead we take it literally: to make a bridge that reaches across a space! But it takes more than that to make a great bridge. Advances in design software, construction techniques and innovative materials have given engineers opportunities to focus on original, striking and sometimes whimsical designs that impress, while keeping function in mind. The best fit to this description is Brussels-based engineer office NEY+Partners. Read the rest of this entry »
9
Apr
2013
Apr
2013
Beautiful Decay
We played their as kids, spooked the hell out of our little sister or even stole our first kiss behind a wall overgrown with ivy. Empty buildings can be found everywhere. Sometimes they’re there because they belong to a noble family who cannot decide what to do with it, or they belong to a promoter not getting the right permissions to renovate, or they belong to the city who can’t find the funding or can’t decide what to do with it. But let’s be honest, they’re beautiful in their emptiness so why change them. Read the rest of this entry »
29
Mar
2013
Mar
2013
Interior Magic
If you know the American reality show Million Dollar Decorator, you know that the taste of some self-proclaimed interior designers can be doubtful. By showing you the work of Belgian decorator Lionel Jadot, we want to erase all bad memories of over-designed and super-sized Los Angeles homes. Instead you’ll see the work of a guy who’s passionate about story telling through materials, compositions and colours! Read the rest of this entry »
21
Mar
2013
Mar
2013
Cabinets Of Curiosities
A cabinet of curiosities is an encyclopedic collection in Renaissance Europe of types of objects whose categorial boundaries were yet to be defined. Modern terminology would categorize the objects included as belonging to natural history, geology, ethnography, archaeology, religious or historical relics, art works and antiquities. Read the rest of this entry »
20
Mar
2013
Mar
2013
City Centre Revitalization
What defines a city centre? Back in the day, the most prestigious building adorned and defined the face of a city’s central square. This face would have fixed elements such as a grand church, a great city hall and a prestigious bank. Elements which represent the religious, political and economical aspect of a city. So what if, by coincidence, these elements get an update? You create a city centre revitalization! That’s what happened in the small city of Harelbeke, in the west of Flanders. The city hall and Dexia bank, which overlook each other, both got a contemporary extension! Read the rest of this entry »
13
Mar
2013
Mar
2013
Office Fun
Every morning, thousands of people walk into their office without noticing the architecture of the building. Nothing could be further from the truth for the employees who work in the recently refurbished Alpha Tower. Credits go to LOW architects who transformed the boring 60′s office building situated near the Brussels-north railway station into a remarkable energy friendly landmark! Read the rest of this entry »
28
Feb
2013
Feb
2013
Grafting Light
Modular systems, we love them! That’s why the I Love Belgium team has to talk about ‘Grafting Light‘. Grafting Light is a project by architecture office C.T.A. This office is lead, since 2009, by Nick Ceulemans and Liesbeth Thewissen, who required their experiences in renowned offices such as David Chipperfield, Zaha Hadid and Wiel Arets. Read the rest of this entry »
22
Feb
2013
Feb
2013
Transformation Time
Fact: Belgium was the first country, in continental Europe, in which the industrial revolution took place. As a result, Belgium is filled with working class houses! These small houses have been transformed (most of them in a doubtable way) through the decades by their respectable owners. Today, young owners opt to rebuild these houses in a more convenient and green way while keeping the spirit of the neighbourhood intact. The I Love Belgium team selected three projects to visualise this phenomenon. Read the rest of this entry »
3
Feb
2013
Feb
2013
Julien Renault’s Inventory
Belgian based French designer Julien Renault is an emotional designer. In a world where’s there’s already too much design made just for the sake of it, he’s part of the new generation redefining both the material and technique of everyday products and furniture. After graduating at the ESAD Design & Art School in Reims and ECAL in Lausanne he moved to Brussels to assist Belgian designer Sylvain Willenz while working simultaneously worked for an antique design dealer. Read the rest of this entry »
1
Feb
2013
Feb
2013
The Wirtz Gardens
What do Raf Simons, Catherine Deneuve, Richard Rogers, François Mitterand, The Belgian Royal Family and Valentino have in common? They all have worked together with landscape architect Jaques Wirtz! This contemporary landscape architect became renowned and praised for his sculpture like treatment of hedges. Read the rest of this entry »
30
Jan
2013
Jan
2013
Saint Rita by TVDV
Photographer Tim Van de Velde (aka TVDV) contacted the I Love Belgium team with fresh photography material! And guess what? We immediately fell in love with Tim’s photography of this modernist classic of Belgian architecture. The Saint Rita church, designed by architects Léon Stynen & Paul Demeyer, is captured in all it’s glory. Tim even supplied us with “Ceiling of the day” material! Read the rest of this entry »
15
Jan
2013
Jan
2013
The Red Roof Cube
Why is it that when we walk in our cities that we don’t look up? Why this rhetorical question you may ask… Well, the I Love Belgium team feels that the best architecture details are to be found when we ignore the street level! A good example of our theory is the new collective housing ‘Brioolstraat’ in Ghent by CAAN architecten! Read the rest of this entry »
7
Jan
2013
Jan
2013
Top 12 of 2012
Yes, we have to admit: we’ve been neglecting you guys! First it was the holly jolly christmas period followed by the beer fear of New Year’s Eve and then we’ve topped it of with a week of dolce vita in Italy. But now that we are fully re-energized and back at our desk, we’re more then ever motivated to bring you Belgium loving articles! Read the rest of this entry »
8
Nov
2012
Nov
2012
Chapel Design
How do you design a chapel interior for an organisation of autonomous schools anno 2012? This hard task was tackled by design duo Tom Callebaut and Cindy Tirry also know as design office tcct. They handled the chapel space as a metaphor for the way the institute works with people: transforming the internal disorder into an infrastructure which gives peace, happiness and reflection. Read the rest of this entry »
29
Oct
2012
Oct
2012
Greenhouse Living
As the days are getting darker the I Love Belgium team starts dreaming about greenhouse living: soaking up every last ray of sunshine while longing for summertime! That’s why this transparent family house of architecture office Verdickt & Verdickt serves as a perfect solution! This ready-made house serves as the new archetype for an affordable house, bound to traditional building regulations yet keeping a creative insight! Read the rest of this entry »
15
Oct
2012
Oct
2012
Carlos’ Bubbles
What does a city do when a 40.000 m2 piece of land with an 11.000 m2 industrial shed built in 1991 comes available? Easy: you turn the old Coca Cola Factory into the new city hall and civic centre of Oostkamp! First step? You launch an architecture competition and brief. Result: Madrid-based architecture office Carlos Arroyo comes up with a great, bubbly, concept and takes home the price. Read the rest of this entry »
1
Oct
2012
Oct
2012
Unforseen Architecture
Back in 2006, architect engineer Peter Van Impe searched a place for his newly founded architects-engineer office titled AST 77 (Peter was born in 1977). As a result he stumbled upon an after-war terraced house located at the edge of the city park of Tienen (a city in Flemish-Brabant). After some research Peter got confirmation that this plot, of just 60 square meters, was usable for construction. Although never considers as a usable plot, Peter transformed it into a spacious house/office following the less is more principle! Read the rest of this entry »
29
Sep
2012
Sep
2012
Little Brit.. Belgium, I Love Belgium for The Guardian
What do you do when the UK’s leading quality newspaper The Guardian asks you to write an article for them about what’s going on in Ghent? You say yes of course! Ghent is hosting the 2012 Guardian Travel Awards and The Guardian’s Travel Editor Gemma Bowes hit up the I Love Belgium team to find out what’s happening in Belgium’s hipster capital. Curious what we wrote about? You can read the full article here, but we’ve decided to list up our picks for The Guardian about the latest openings in Ghent here: Read the rest of this entry »
23
Sep
2012
Sep
2012
Atelier Solarshop Forever
We’ve been following Piëtro and Jan-Jan from the beginning with their pop-up concept Atelier Solarshop. Their selection of vintage pieces and young designers always made our heart beat faster. So when we got the message that they blew up the pop-up concept to install a permanent creative platform for creatives and a gallery for young artists and designers, we immediately had butterflies in our stomachs. Read the rest of this entry »
