Brutalism in Belgium

Brutalism in Belgium, the new book published by Prisme, is devoted to the most significant Belgian Brutalist buildings constructed between the 1950s and 1980s. The future of these architectural works is uncertain: some are threatened with demolition, while others have been transformed or abandoned.

The book lists more than 50 emblematic buildings in Brussels, Liège, Namur, Antwerp, Ghent, Louvain-la-Neuve, Leuven, Turnhout, Charleroi, Mons, Hasselt, Dilbeek, Harelbeke and Ostend. Architect and photographer Pierrick de Stexhe photographed the buildings using a large-format black-and-white silver technical camera, following a methodical process to ensure the visual coherence of the images. The buildings are immortalised from six angles, frontal or axial, to offer a complete view of their structure.

The photographs are accompanied by texts by Aurélien Jacob and Pierrick de Stexhe describing the essential architectural and urban features of these buildings.

The book explores Brutalism in three main ways:

1. Images and magic of concrete, by Jacinthe Gigou
2. Genealogy of international Brutalism and Brutalism's timeline, by Jean-Marc Basyn
3. Materiality, by Marc Dubois