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Other events 2008 - 2009:
Visit to the Renaat Braem House
Menegemlei 23, 2100 Deurne
The famous Belgian architect designed his own house which he moved into in
1958. It became a listed monument in 1995.
It has been restored to how it would have looked at that time and has many of
the original pieces of furniture and other items that belonged to Renaat.
Our tour started with a talk
by the curator and a short video in Dutch.
The stairwell is a prominent feature of the house with open wooden
steps and an open grill floor.
Renaat like bold colours and behind the curator, you can see the
colourful pipes.
Renaart like lots of light and
big windows. He was influenced by Japanese design and below you can see
a wall made of coloured corrugated plastic that stretches to the floor
below and lets lots of light in. The ornaments show the Japanese
influence.
Plastic in the fifties was a new material and much cheaper and
lighter than conventional glass.
The kitchen was designed to be
functional and small with everything within easy reach. Primary colours
are used for the decoration.
Renaart also like the idea of
"split level" living to divide off different areas. There are
huge south-facing windows in the dining area (to the front of the photo
below) which let the sun in to warm the room. The height of the ceiling
here is however lower, so that in the summer, not too much sun can come
in.
The curator lives in the museum. Here is his cat sitting on the shelf
with some of Renaarts nick-nacks he gathered on his journeys around the
world.
The display shelves are placed deliberately to be viewed easily at
sitting height.
There is a small "transitional" area before arriving at the
sitting room. Here Renaat built the latest design radiogram into the furniture.
At the other end of the
room (right) is a cozy area with open fire. You can see the paper lamp
shade designed by Isamu Noguchi, as well as a typical 50s lamp. The
house was fitted with contemporary Italian and Danish furniture
including an Italian adjustable settee and matching chair made by Osvaldo
Borsani.
There are also 2 classic egg-chairs and a foot-stool by the Danish
designer Arne Jacobsen
Below and right: The office has a display area.
You can see many of the items that Renaat collected on his travels
hanging on the wall.
In front of the curator is a model of a crematorium for Deurne. It
was never built.
Below: The office is split-level. The
lower level has steep stairs going down to the work area where there are
still 2 architects' drawing boards. The area is below the level of the
garden and surrounded on 3 sides by glass flooding the area with natural
light.
Left: One of Renaat's designs still on the drawing board.
