Jozef Schellekens (1909–1963) was a  modernist architect, artist and writer from Turnhout, Belgium. Born into an artisanal family of cabinetmakers and textile workers, he developed a strong sensitivity to craftsmanship, materiality and construction, qualities that would remain central to his architectural work. He trained as an architectural draughtsman under provincial architect Jules Taeymans and studied architecture at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, where he graduated in 1933 as top of his class. As a contemporary of Renaat Braem and Léon Stynen, Schellekens was part of a generation that helped shape Belgian modernism between the wars. Between 1934 and 1936, he designed his own modernist residence in Turnhout, a double house for himself and writer Theo Op de Beeck. With its expressive brick volumes, steel framed windows, built in furniture, murals and carefully composed interiors, the house reflects his ambition to bring architecture, furniture and art together into one coherent total environment.

In 1937, Schellekens became provincial architect for the district of Turnhout. His work combined modernist clarity with a strong sense of proportion, human scale and regional building culture. His architectural legacy continued through his son Paul Schellekens, who became one of the key figures of the 'Turnhoutse School'. This late modernist movement developed in and around Turnhout during the 1960s and 1970s and was brought together under this name by Renaat Braem in 1976. Together with architects such as Carli Vanhout, Paul Neefs, Lou Jansen and Rudy Schiltz, Paul Schellekens helped shape a distinctive regional architecture defined by sculptural volumes, honest materials, integrated interiors and a close relationship with landscape. In this sense, Jozef Schellekens forms an important bridge between Belgian interwar modernism and the later architectural culture of Turnhout.

From the Maison Moderniste Journal
Late Modernism in the Kempen: The Turnhoutse School