Cart
0
0.00 €

GASTON EYSSELINCK, stool for the Ostend Post Office

Rare stool in solid oak designed by the Belgian architect Gaston Eysselinck and manufactured by Fortuna, Ghent. Originally conceived as part of the interior of the Post Building or 'PTT building' in Ostend (1947-1953), Eysselinck's first major public commission and widely regarded as one of the key works of post-war architecture in Belgium. For Eysselinck, furniture was always an integral part of his architectural vision. His building permit drawings therefore consistently included perfectly detailed furniture designs.

The piece remains in beautiful condition. A rare and authentic object that perfectly illustrates Eysselinck's modernist approach and the close relationship between architecture and design in the 1940s.

h x w x d: 55 x 35 x 39 cm / weight: 5.60 kg

-

shipping quote I more information I  instagram

3,900.00 €
excluding shipping cost

About Gaston Eysselinck

Gaston Eysselinck (1907–1953) was a Belgian modernist architect and furniture designer, and a central figure in Belgian architecture of the Interwar period. Born in Tienen, he studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent. During his formative years, Eysselinck engaged deeply with the European avant-garde, drawing inspiration from the Amsterdam School, W.M. Dudok, Gerrit Rietveld, J.J.P. Oud, and the ideas of Le Corbusier. His work is often described as a non-dogmatic interpretation of Le Corbusier's Five Points of a New Architecture. Eysselinck realised a relatively small but highly influential body of work. His series of compact terraced houses introduced an innovative approach to housing typology and several of his residential designs are now considered part of Belgium's modern architectural heritage. His own house and studio in Ghent is regarded as a manifesto of the 'Nieuwe Bouwen' movement in Belgium. For this house, he also designed a series of steel tubular furniture pieces in the early 1930s, later produced under the name FRATSTA (Fabriek van Rationele Staalmeubelen). 

They are considered among the finest European designs of their kind. Eysselinck's undisputed magnum opus is the Post Building in Ostend (1945–1952), his first and only major public commission and a landmark of post-war Belgian architecture. As a committed socialist, this project allowed him to articulate his social and architectural ideals on an urban scale. The building, conceived under difficult post-war conditions, is characterised by a sober, functional and monumental language, and was developed through a long and often contentious design and construction process. Alongside his architectural practice, Eysselinck taught at the Royal Academy in Ghent and later in Antwerp, was briefly a member of the editorial board of 'La Cité', and received the prestigious Van de Ven Architecture Prize in 1937 for the Verplancken House in Ghent. Despite his importance, only a limited number of his designs were realised. Gaston Eysselinck died in Ostend in 1953, at the age of 46. His archive is preserved at the Design Museum Ghent.