Creative sobriety: Louis Bosny

Until recently, the name Louis Bosny was largely absent from narratives of Belgian architecture. This exhibition seeks to address that omission, following a rigorous investigative process led by architect and historian Jean-Michel Degraeve.

Born in Liège in 1924, Bosny lived through the Second World War in an extraordinary way. On his father’s advice, he left Belgium in 1941 but was arrested in Spain and interned in a Francoist camp. He eventually managed to reach the Belgian Congo via Portugal, joined the British Special Air Service (SAS) and, in 1943, the Belgian Expeditionary Corps in North Africa. He took part in bombing campaigns in Italy, then joined Montgomery’s army during the Desert War. He was later deployed to Bastogne during the Ardennes Offensive in 1944, before finally serving on the front in Germany.

After the war, Louis Bosny returned to Liège and chose architecture. For nearly forty years, he developed a rigorous and committed body of work, mainly in the fields of social housing, healthcare and education. His practice is characterised by a great economy of means, constant attention to use, and a strong constructive discipline, giving his projects a sobriety that is both functional and deeply humane.

Exhibition in Saint-Étienne

The exhibition thus pays a double tribute: to the architect himself, and to all those who, through research, publishing and exhibition-making, have helped bring to light a body of work that long remained in the shadows.

The exhibition will be on view from 26 February to 27 March 2026 at the exhibition hall of the École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Saint-Étienne. Further information is available on the dedicated website.

Curatorship: Éditions Fourre-Tout
Original production: Éditions Fourre-Tout / MNEMA asbl — La Cité Miroir
Scenography: Pierre-Yves Jurdant, Vincent Dietsch, Steven Vitale
Photography: Nayef Hazimeh & Robin Nissen (Robinayef)
Texts: Carmelo Virone, Pierre Hebbelinck
Literary advisor: Pascal Leclercq
Communication: Jeanne Hebbelinck, Vitale Design

A monographic publication by Éditions Fourre-Tout

Running parallel to the exhibition, a monographic volume published by Éditions Fourre-Tout traces, for the first time, the full trajectory of Louis Bosny’s career.

For many years, only his house on rue Henri Maus in Liège—designed for his own family—was known among architects. In 2011, Sacha Boutsen’s master’s thesis on this house revealed the true extent of Bosny’s work in social housing.

This discovery led the editorial collective to entrust Jean-Michel Degraeve with the writing of a reference work, richly documented and recontextualising Bosny’s architecture within its social and political framework.