Philippe Samyn


Sir Philippe Samyn is a Belgian architect and civil engineer whose style is characterized by extensive use of glass, wood and steel to build often monumental structures. He is also known for his discovery of ":en:Volume and displacement indicators for an architectural structure|The volume and displacement indicators for an architectural structure" in August 1997.

Biography

Philippe Samyn started his education in Ghent, before moving to Brussels with his family. He was interested in art, architecture, sciences and technology from an early age.
He holds a degree in civil engineering from Brussels Free University in 1971, a Master of Sciences in Civil Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in 1973, a degree in urban planning from the ULB, a postgraduate in management from the Solvay Business School. He became Doctor of Applied sciences at the University of Liège in 1999.
He begins his consultant activity as an architect and engineer in 1972 and founds Philippe Samyn and Partners in 1980. He advocates the concept of “efficiency”: a rational use of materials’ properties. His approach is therefore opposed to those producing structures that are expensive, fragile or use excess material. His technical research was thus awarded a Global Award for Sustainable Architecture in 2008.
His archives are regularly transferred and available for consultation:
Philippe Samyn is Commander of the Order of Léopold and a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium. He is personally ennobled with the grant of hereditary nobility to Knighthood by HM King Albert II of Belgium on 13 July 2012. His motto is "Reperire, Invenire, Creare".

Philippe Samyn and Partners

Description

Philippe Samyn and Partners is a partnership of architects and engineers founded in 1980 which currently employs about fifty associates.
The team carries out integrated projects, from landscape design to furniture, including engineering.
It is based in the neighborhood of the Prince of Orange, south of Brussels.
The partnership is certified ISO 9001 – 2015, ISO 14001 – 2015 and VALIDEO. Partners are Philippe Samyn, Denis Mélott and Johan Van Rompaey, Antonio Quinones and Ghislain André, Jacques Ceyssens, Quentin Steyaert, André Charon, Åsa Decorte.

Major projects