OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen is a Brussels-based
architectural practice founded in 2002 by Kersten Geers and David Van Severen. OFFICE is renowned for its idiosyncratic architecture, which includes both productions and theoretical projects. The projects are direct, spatial and firmly rooted in architectural theory. The firm reduces architecture to its very essence and to its most original form: a limited set of basic geometric rules is used to create a framework within which life unfolds in all its com- plexity. OFFICE engages in all kinds of architectural design and urban planning, creating projects on different scales that range from furniture to masterplanning, both in Belgium and internationally. This practice is combined with academic research, since Geers and Van Severen have taught at various institutions, such as the Berlage Institute, Harvard GSD, EPFL and Mendrisio. These two aspects of OFFICE's work explicitly mirror each other, creating unexpected parallels between academic and practical work.
OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen has received numerous honours and awards, including the Belgian Prize for Architecture, the Art Prize Berlin and the Silver Lion at the 12th Venice Architecture Bienniale. Recent projects include the RTS building in Lausanne, the VRT building in Brussels, the Galerie Lafayette store in Paris, Solo House in Spain, Cultural centres in Bahrain, the Brewery and Tondo footbridge in Brussels, the Caserne de Reuilly housing complex in Paris, and the Crematorium in Ostend, in collaboration with the artist
Richard Venlet.
