bthere: Inflight Magazine Brussels Airlines

Alain Berteau

Alain Berteau runs an award winning design studio in Brussels, which he founded in 2002. His work ranges from architecture to interiors, furniture and product design. In addition to designing products for furniture suppliers like Bulo, Van Marcke and Wildspirit, he also teaches at Brussels’ La Cambre School of Arts. In 2006, he was named Belgian designer of the year

01 Where in Brussels do you live?
Ixelles, Porte de Namur.

02 What do you like about living there?
My wife and I managed to find a house there that was big enough to accommodate both our family and my office.

03 Do you have a favourite district?
I love Place du Chatelain. I lived there for 18 years, and it’s a really vibrant place. But for the true spirit of Brussels, I love Marolles.

04 What’s the best design store in Brussels?
Those selling my products are the very best in town.

05 What’s your favourite old building in Brussels?
The Solvay House, which was built by Victor Horta in 1895 [224 Avenue Louise]. It’s very cleverly designed – it turned traditional architecture on its head.

06 What’s your favourite piece of contemporary architecture in Brussels?
The Urvater house by André Jacqmain and Jules Wabbes [59 Avenue Lequime Rhode-St-Genèse]. Okay, it’s a 1959 residence in a decayed suburb, but it remains the last significant masterpiece to be built before local authorities’ legislation made it difficult for architecture to evolve any further.

07 What’s your favourite European city apart from Brussels?
London – it’s a city with great cultural institutions, pubs, restaurants, parks and modern buildings.

08 How do you think the architecture in Brussels measures up to that in cities like Paris and Barcelona?
You can’t compare them. Brussels’ architecture has always been heterogeneous, with a great mix of periods and styles. Recently, it’s been damaged by this current obsession with making everything uniform, which has seen numerous pieces of senseless and anachronistic ‘blending’ architecture built. To see good architecture, go to London or the Netherlands.

09 You were voted Belgian Designer of the Year. How does Belgian design differ from other countries’ design?
It doesn’t. Good design is not about local style, it’s about inventiveness and improving people’s lives. It’s a universal language.

10 Which other designers do you admire?
I admire the work of designers like Marcel Breuer and George Nelson. I also like Ross Lovegrove, Konstantin Grcic and Jasper Morrisson.

11 Where do you get your inspiration from?
Everyday life.

12 What’s your favourite restaurant in Brussels?
Chez Marie [Rue De Witte, Ixelles] serves fine French food, and has an amazing wine cellar and a great sommelier.

13 Where do you go to get away from it all?
Anywhere with my family, and without my phone, laptop or wi-fi.

14 Where would you go in Brussels to see a great view?
Walk along the Rue Royale and look downtown. Or get lost in one of the city’s many parks like the Bois de la Cambre, the Tervueren, or the Forest, and enjoy surprising perspectives.

15 Which piece of work are you proudest of and why?
The next, because I’m hoping my work is getting better and better.

16 What can’t you live without?
My loved ones, jazz and a sketchbook.

17 Which exhibitions would you recommend to visitors to Brussels this winter?
‘Eternal Energy: 1500 Years of Indian Art’ or ‘Souto de Moura’ at the Palais des Beaux-Arts [23 rue Ravenstein B-1000 Bruxelles www.bozar.be]

18 What two things would you recommend a person visiting Brussels for the first time should go and see?
First visit Belgium’s 19th-century institutions – places like the Cinquantenaire, the Africa Museum, and the Galeries de la Reine – beautiful places that bring the past to life. Then enjoy breakfast and an early morning walk in the Place du Jeu de Balle district in Marolles.