Maarten Van Severen

This mono­graph docu­ments the furni­ture and archi­tec­tural inte­ri­ors of Maarten Van Severen. The text, by Geert Bekaert, exam­ines a prac­tice defined by the system­atic reduc­tion of form and a reliance on industrial materials.

The volume includes process imagery and photomon­tages that trace the devel­op­ment of Van Severen’s ascetic tables, chairs, and storage units. These objects are char­ac­ter­ized by sharp geome­tries and a lack of orna­men­tal detail, prior­i­tiz­ing the phys­i­cal prop­er­ties of aluminum, plywood, and steel. Beyond indi­vid­ual pieces, the book details Van Severen’s collab­o­ra­tive work with Rem Kool­haas, illus­trat­ing how his furni­ture inte­grates into larger archi­tec­tural volumes. The docu­men­ta­tion serves as a tech­ni­cal survey of a designer who sought to resolve the rela­tion­ship between mate­r­ial constraints and human utility.