We visited Mariakerke, just outside Ghent, during a walk with Toerist Modernist. The neighbourhood dates back to the 1950s, when land from the Nowé family estate, including a small castle, was subdivided into a model development. Buyers were required to build with Olivier Nowé, René Heyvaert or Dan Craet. This resulted in a coherent modernist neighbourhood. Craet's houses are structured and functional, with split level plans and a strong connection to the garden. Heyvaert's work is lighter and more experimental, using simpler materials and construction methods. Craet built his own house here. His wife, Frida Burssens, played a key role in shaping the interiors. Trained in decorative arts in Ghent, she worked on interior layouts, built in furniture and colour schemes, and was also active as a graphic designer. In the 1950s, she contributed to the National Salons for Modern Social Furniture, where designers such as Jos De Mey and Alfred Hendrickx explored how modern design could be applied to everyday living. 

Frida's use of colour, often based on primary tones, was an integral part of the architecture. Her brother, Jan Burssens, was a painter working within a lyrical abstract style, often using a dripping technique with a strong focus on colour. His work is present in Craet's own house, where art, interior and architecture clearly belong together. It is rare to see this level of consistency across different disciplines, and it is something we strongly value. This neighbourhood remains one of the clearest examples of post war modernism in Belgium. While many houses from this period have been altered or even demolished, it is good to see that some carefully preserved examples still exist here. That makes places like this increasingly valuable and exactly what we are drawn to.

→  René Heyvaert in the Maison Moderniste Collection

→  Jan Burssens in the Maison Moderniste Collection