Renaat Braem (1910-2001)

Renaat Braem is regarded as one of the primary exponents of post-war architecture in Belgium. He completed his studies in architecture in his native town of Antwerp, with a visionary plan for the creation of a 'line city' 100 kilometres long, right through the heart of Belgium. As the only Belgian ever to do so, Braem was in 1936 apprenticed to Le Corbusier, who recommended him for CIAM membership the following year.

His career gained international renown in the 50s and 60s with the construction of several impressive housing estates in the cities of Antwerp, Brussels and Leuven. His office tower for the Antwerp civil administration, although still controversial, is currently considered as one of the most inspiring high-rise buildings in Belgium of the time.

Although his early creations were largely influenced by the CIAM ideology, Braem's architecture gradually adopted a more organic style, which is most apparent in his plans for private houses. Being an indefatigable theorist and polemist, the architect wrote history with his daring 1968 essay entitled 'Het lelijkste land ter wereld' [The ugliest country in the world], an accusation against the devastating effects of town and country planning in post-war Belgium.