“Architecture is about bringing people together by creating a better environment”
The Why.
Do you believe great architecture has the power to bring people together? So do we!
At SMAK Architects, we design mixed use buildings that improve local neighborhoods and entire cities. One brick at a time.
We believe the communities of tomorrow are diverse and lively environments where offices meet residences and production facilities. And above all: shared space is where people meet people. Great architecture facilitates these encounters.
The well-built houses and warehouses of the early 20th century inspire us with their durability and flexibility towards changing functions. Looking forward, no other place represents the future as much as schools do. They should be places where children, teachers and parents interact with neighbors. And just like residential and office projects, they should be sites that are embedded in their local community.
The How.
Each project requires a different approach. And for each approach, we gather the right experts around the table in our Antwerp studio. That’s where discussion and dialogue are the starting point of every interactive process.
But as you can imagine, not every discussion ends up in immediate consensus. That’s why we investigate a multitude of options by creating lots of models and sketches. In the end, this preliminary work leads to one final track, supported by the whole team.
With a little help of digital tools, paper sketches become volumetry studies and first renders. And once the path is chosen, we switch to the most advanced 3D software to elaborate the design and realize a high-end execution.
Interested in finding out where this process can lead your project?We’re happy to save you a seat at our discussion table.
The Who(s).
Mathias Kerremans is the founder of SMAK Architects. He developed his expertise and design skills both in Belgium and abroad, in the offices of Richard Rogers Partnership, VK group, Foster + Partners and B2Ai. Discover the full story of Mathias and SMAK Architects here.
Perrine Compain is a française with 10 years of experience in Belgium at Atelier de Genval and B2Ai, where she collaborated successfully with Mathias Kerremans since 2016. She joined SMAK Architects in 2019 and is head of the design team.
John Flippo is a Dutchman with over 25 years of experience in Switzerland, The Netherlands and Belgium. He spent an important part of his career at Charles Vandenhove where he developed his passion for detail and project execution. John worked closely with Mathias Kerremans at B2Ai, before joining SMAK Architects as head of the execution team.
Meet our entire team of amazing, international experts.
We regularly collaborate with great partners such as VHH London, A-tract architecture, Das Bauercabinett, B2Ai, Space lab[1] and many others.
How it began.
Mathias Kerremans is the founder of SMAK Architects (Studio Mathias Kerremans). He has developed his expertise and design skills in the offices of Richard Rogers Partnership, VK group, Foster and Partners and B2Ai, working on projects in Russia, France, Morocco and Belgium.
Moving to London.
After finishing his studies as structural engineer and architect in 1999, Mathias moved to London to work on the design of the New Law Courts building in Antwerp for VK group and Richard Rogers Partnership. From 2002 Kerremans was full time on site of the Law Courts in Antwerp, until its completion in 2005.
After half a year of travelling Mathias joined the office of Foster and Partners in London (2006). His team worked on several international projects and competitions, including the Red October chocolate factory (a restoration project of an old chocolate factory in the centre of Moscow, 30,000 m2), Project Orange (Design for a mixed use scheme in Moscow, 180,000 m2), Hermitage Towers (a twin tower project in Paris, 90,000 m2).
In 2009 he was responsible for the execution of a residential project in Rabat, Morocco (Bab Al Bahr project 400,000 m2).
In July 2010 Kerremans left his position as associate partner at Foster to start his office smak architects in Belgium. Together with VHH London, SMAK Architects won the competition to build a school in Eeklo under the ‘Scholen van morgen’ program (OLV Ten Doorn, 11.000 m2, 2012-2018).
The Brussels experience.
While developing SMAK Architects, Mathias worked as lead designer for B2Ai Brussels, where he designed with his team projects such as The One (a mixed use tower for Atenor, 38.000 m2) , Zuidzicht (A waterfront residential scheme for Kolmont, 35,000 m2), Campus Comenius (a School and Community Campus for Kairos, 12,500 m2) and an award winning school building A la Croisée des Chemins (Neder-Over-Heembeek, 8,200 m2) for the city of Brussels.
Next…
In 2018 Mathias has left his position as lead designer at B2AI to focus on developing SMAK Architects.
