Renowned photographer Marc Goodwin of Archmospheres has expanded his global documentation project to Belgium, offering an intimate look at the working environments where some of the country's most innovative architecture is born. This latest chapter in his ongoing series, which has previously featured studios in Japan and Porto, reveals how Belgian architectural practices design their own creative spaces with the same thoughtfulness they bring to their client projects.
Working in collaboration with local architects across Belgium's major cities, Goodwin has captured the unique atmospheres and interior designs that define how these firms organize their creative processes. The photography series spans from Antwerp to Brussels and Ghent, demonstrating how architects approach their studios as extensions of their design philosophy, creating spaces that reflect their professional identity and creative methodology.
In Antwerp, BINST Architects has transformed a historically rich 1,056-square-meter space on Luikstraat into their headquarters since 2018. The building's fascinating past includes serving as a colonial rubber storage facility and later as a discotheque before becoming home to the firm's sixty-person team. The studio emphasizes natural light, tactile materials, and an open layout that balances transparency with intimate working areas, reflecting the firm's approach to creating environments that foster both collaboration and focused work.
Also in Antwerp, Bruno Spaas Architectuur operates from a more intimate 210-square-meter space that previously housed a stamp workshop. Since establishing their studio there in 2019, the small team of one to three architects has cultivated a calm and connected environment. The space is thoughtfully filled with material samples, reference books, and design objects that encourage experimentation and creative exploration, demonstrating how smaller practices can create rich, inspiring work environments.
B-architecten, another Antwerp-based practice, houses its sixty-person team across an impressive 1,200 square meters spanning two historically significant spaces. The firm occupies both Anyplace, a former diamond cutting factory, and B-cinema, which holds the distinction of being the first building in Antwerp specifically constructed as a cinema in 1913. Since moving into B-cinema in 2024, the firm has focused on developing an office culture that actively inspires creativity and reflects their design-driven identity through their physical workspace.
From their Brussels penthouse location, Brut Architecture and Urban Design operates across 320 square meters with commanding views over the Belgian capital. The space, originally constructed in 1956 and later renovated by the acclaimed firm OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen, exemplifies how raw materiality can be softened through thoughtful design elements like strategically placed plants. The fourteen-person studio places strong emphasis on shared meals and creating a balance between open collaborative areas and smaller, more intimate meeting spaces.
Antwerp's CONTEKST made a significant move in 2023 to a 210-square-meter office housed in a former notary office dating back to 1906, originally designed by architect R. Styfhals. With their seven-person team, the practice has prioritized creating variety in their workspace and maintaining a human-centered approach, carefully shaping different functional areas to support diverse working styles and project needs.
In Ghent, FELT Architecture & Design has been operating since 2014 from a converted former fabric depot and sewing workshop. Their 120-square-meter office is part of a creative coworking arrangement shared with aNNo architecten and MAAT ontwerpers, creating a collaborative environment that extends beyond their individual practice. The team of eleven particularly values the generous scale of their rooms, which provides ample space for creating large-scale mock-ups and conducting collaborative design experiments that inform their architectural work.
