In memoriam: Juliaan Lampens (1926-2019)
At the age of 93, Belgian architect Juliaan Lampens, a masterful builder in concrete, wood and glass, has passed away in Ghent
![Concrete house in geometric form with chimney](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/iP77rfHG7GcZi9zDD7dp88-415-80.jpg)
Even before Juliaan Lampens acquired his architecture degree, he had started to build houses. The Belgian architect, son of a carpenter, was born in 1926 near Ghent in Belgium. He founded his architectural practice in 1950, and was active predominantly in the East of Flanders.
Like many Belgians of his generation, he visited the World’s Fair in Brussels in 1958, an experience of profound impact. The modernist architecture on show there, by Le Corbusier and others, introduced both Lampens and the wider Belgian public to modern architectural styles.
But although the influence on Lampens was immediate, causing him to drastically rethink his architectural direction and prompting him to design his own avant-garde home in 1960, it took a few decades before his radical vision on architecture was recognized as exceptional and brilliant in Belgium and beyond.
Portrait of Juliaan Lampens.
Lampens said his house in Eke – which was characterized by a massive concrete roof, an open floor plan across the entire volume, and a harmonious connection between interior and exterior – was “the ultimate calling card”; and indeed, commissions from likeminded clients increased thanks to this visual manifesto.
In the Vandenhaute-Kiebooms House, completed in 1967, and the home he designed for the teacher Albert Van Wassenhove near Ghent in 1974, these same elements recur most drastically: the sizeable raw concrete and glass structures have a minimal amount of load-bearing walls, are closed at the facade but fully opened-up toward nature elsewhere, and within the open floor plan even the bathrooms are spatially integrated within concrete cylinders.
Site-specific wooden furniture designed by the architect turned these homes into Lampens’ individual expression of a Brutalism-inflected Gesamtkunstwerk.
Kitchen and dining area of the Van Wassenhove house, with concrete walls and ceiling and a concrete table deisgned by Lampens. Featured in April 2010 issue of Wallpaper* magazine.
Through his architecture Lampens championed a family-focused and egalitarian way of living that went against the grain of his contemporaries’ bourgeois emphasis on individuality and hierarchy.
Apart from the bunker-like homes Lampens designed, he also authored a pilgrimage chapel (Edelare, 1966) and a library (Eke, 1970) – structures that, despite their relatively small scale, exude an equally monolithic sculptural sensibility that enhances community.
Today, four of Lampens’ homes have received heritage-listed status. Their protective concrete shell that embraces a family-centric focus on interconnected living all the while relating holistically to their natural surroundings, is part of an architectural language Brutal in form but human in function that speaks to us still.
The chapel of Our Blessed Lady of Kerselare, in Edelare, Belgium, completed by Lampens in 1966. Featured in April 2010 issue of Wallpaper* magazine.
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Remembering Alexandros Tombazis (1939-2024), and the Metabolist architecture of this 1970s eco-pioneer
Back in September 2010 (W*138), we explored the legacy and history of Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis, who this month celebrates his 80th birthday.
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Green Ark, a new garden pavilion from modified softwood, is conceived for plant conservation
The Green Ark, set in the heart of Belgium's Meise Botanic Garden, is an ultra-sustainable visitor pavilion by NU Architectuur Atelier
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Residence Norah is a modernist Belgian villa transformed to its owner’s needs
Residence Norah by Glenn Sestig in Belgium’s Deurle transforms an existing gallery space into a flexible private meeting area that perfectly responds to its owner’s requirements
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Niemeyer’s modernism celebrated in Oscar Ibirapuera, an example of 21st-century São Paulo living
Perkins&Will completes Oscar Ibirapuera, next to Niemeyer’s modernist landmark park in São Paulo, Brazil
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
The newest Centre Point Residences’ showcase is a masterful balance of art and furniture
Conran and Partners’ new apartment design for Centre Point Residences balances artwork and curated furniture and objects to craft a space that feels intimate yet luxurious
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Frank Lloyd Wright architecture: from Prairie House to Guggenheim New York
Frank Lloyd Wright, hailed among the 20th century's greatest architects, has left a rich legacy that inspires to this day; here, we invite you to dive into his world
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
John Lautner’s Sheats-Goldstein Residence shows off its estate’s entertainment wing
The Goldstein Entertainment Complex at the estate of the Sheats-Goldstein Residence reveals its newest additions by the complex’s architects of record Conner + Perry Architects
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
We tour Caracas’ treasure trove of modernist architecture gems
Explore Caracas; the Venezuelan capital is full of midcentury modern and brutalist architecture with a tropical twist
By Adam Štěch Published