STORY
The former headquarters of the Royale Belge (former insurance company, then Axa) is a functionalist building inaugurated in 1970 and located in Watermael-Boitsfort, Brussels.
The cross-shaped design is by René Stapels and Pierre Dufau, who were inspired, among other things, by the John Deere World Headquarters designed by Eero Saarinen (Moline, Illinois). The building is 50.80 m high and has an area of 54,000 m2, nestled in a 9-hectare park and its pond on the edge of the Sonian Forest. The exterior consists of corten steel and smoked bronze colored windows characteristic of this iconic building.
THE FOOD MARKET
Pascal Van Hamme and Thierry Goor are passionate and they like to share their dreams. It is with the complicity of the architect-designers and artists Lionel Jadot, and Cristina Gusano that they designed the reassignment of the ground floor and its terrace into a food market. Many Belgian artists contribute to making the space a unique place. The "local" being a leitmotiv even in the decoration.
LIONEL JADOT
Lionel is raw creation. Primitive. Primitive in the noblest sense of the word. His colleagues call him Lion. Not by chance. He adapts, moulds and blends into landscapes, shapes and colours. He never abruptly changes the original purpose of a place or an object. First, he will understand it and blend into it to draw out its most subtle DNA, and as a researcher will modify it to make it part of its time, its era. He will involve some of the craftsmen of Zaventem Atelier, the creative hub he created not far from the runways of an airport - quite a symbol - in the Royale Belge project. It is from here that the creations of dozens of artists who share his dreams of escape take flight, leading us into universes where utopias become reality, where borders become commonplace, where cultures collide. With the Iberian vision of Cristina Gusano, he imagined and designed the Fox.
BRAM VANDERBEKE
Bram, based in Ghent, explores and transforms the possible interactions between an object, its architectural environment and its user, challenging raw materiality, form and functionality. His works are both autonomous artistic manifestations and useful solutions, an ambiguity that Bram deliberately seeks. It is with this in mind that he has created a superimposition of concrete blocks to create the tasting kiosks.
Thomas Serruys (°1986) is a Bruges-based designer with a background in selling 20th century design and art. Designing pieces happens intuitively and are in the first place always considered as designed for his own use. Thomas thinks in simple lines with a practical approach to the material. Working with humble woods as pine, or galvanizing steel for interior purposes and furniture for example. Material and form choices are made in the sight of how the object can age well and withstand the test of time.
The Data table consists of a thick free-shaped top with smooth round edges and demountable turned trapezoid legs. All in solid pine. Because of their shapes the tables are considered multi-functional. Every angle opens a new perspective of usage.
SONIAN WOOD
The mission of the Sonian Wood Coop is to relocate the processing of wood from the Sonian Forest. They organize the sustainable production of high quality local wood. From the purchase of standing trees to their end use in architectural or design projects, their job is to ensure that every step along the way is as sustainable, local and qualitative as possible. It was Sonian who produced the brutalist chairs and stools, in beech from the nearby Sonian Forest.
CUSTOM CUT
Based in Brussels, Custom works the wood in laser cutting. They produced another part of the chairs.
ARNAUD EUBELEN
This Liegeois works in the no man's land between sculpture and design, by reclaiming and reusing industrial construction parts to break codes and make lights out of them. His practice leads to a body of work belonging to the world of design but built from reused industrial redundancies, creating unique objects with particular identities that bridge the gaps between art and luxury in the industrialized world.
ATELIER J&J
The chairs and tables on the terrace by J&J. They are designed in their workshop on the outskirts of Brussels where they mainly work with wood and metal.
PRESS
Piscine, resto, bar... un nouvel espace hors du commun s'installe en face de la forêt de Soignes.
SoSoir, 17/01/2023
