After years in London, Belgian architect Emilie Morales made a conscious choice of moving back to her hometown Brussels. Together with her partner in crime, privately as well as professionally, as a young family and a developing architectural studio, they envisioned Brussels as the right environment to grow and thrive on all levels.
Tell us about your upbringing in Brussels. In what area did you grow up and how did you spend your time?
During my early childhood, we moved quite a few times between the boroughs of Ixelles and Etterbeek, prior to then moving to Tournai in the south of Belgium where my mother is from. As a result, I can’t say my childhood memories are attached to a specific area of Brussels. Also, my father is Columbian, so given the two I have never felt particularly ‘bruxelloise’. Instead, I have some very specific memories of places that somehow haven’t changed at all in 40 years: I remember going to the market on Place Flagey, learning how to cycle in the Parc du Cinquantenaire and walking and playing with friends at the Bois de La Cambre. Now the mother of two young girls, visiting these same places with them, I’m reminded just how deep those memories are and how they have shaped my image of Brussels.
In our guidebook, Brussels by Locals, you've mentioned the building 'Adeps - Centre Sportif' as a special place. Do you remember also being moved or impressed by the architecture as a child?
Most definitely. I practiced gymnastics in two or three different places in Brussels and that facility was by far my favourite, and still is! With the exception of the logo on the front that the architect in me would happily remove. I returned recently and was struck by the fact that you can still appreciate a building in a childlike manner at times. As a child, the rooms feel larger than they actually are obviously, however even as an adult, within its triple height volumes, you’re struck by the openness and strong sense of space and light, in a way that leaves you with a pleasingly confused sense of scale. As a gymnastics student, I spent just as much time watching others as I did actually practicing, whether that be people playing tennis, trampoline, squash etc., and the arrangement of the building and its volumes actively encourage this, and very successfully. As a result, today, I still refer to that space in my own mind when trying to envisage how the less tangible, atmospheric, aspects of a project might be appreciated. A couple of years ago, I was keen to show my eldest daughter the space to see her reaction, without telling her why we were there or what to expect. She loved it! We spent a long time in complete silence watching a group of children practicing taekwondo in their beautiful black uniform and I enjoyed watching her appreciate the space as much as I did.
You set up your architectural studio in London but then moved it to Brussels. What made you want to come back to Brussels?
A combination of the practical and the idealistic. We didn’t make the move as a result of a change of our opinion of London, a city we love, but Brussels seemed better suited to our specific circumstances. With a young office and an even younger child, London can be a very unforgiving environment to establish a studio. At the time, for us, it felt that there was no room for error in terms of having to be continuously successful in every sense of the word which is a real challenge for a studio finding its feet, a point at which it ought to be making mistakes and discovering itself. Added to this, Brussels also felt like an easier environment to start a young family, and I ought to mention that my partner, Tom, had taken to Brussels since we first started making regular trips from London. Also, Brexit was a particular factor for him in which he felt fewer ties to the UK.
As an architect in Brussels, what kind of projects are you working on here?
We tend to work in domestic contexts and often for people in the arts/creative industries. There was never a particular agenda to do this but it does tend to be a context in which word of mouth leads to work, so once it starts it takes on a rhythm of its own. More recently, we’ve been involved in new dwellings and spaces that also incorporate workplaces which has been a satisfying step in broadening what can otherwise be quite a tight niche. Our current projects in London include a new home for two artists, the refurbishment of an industrial space for an art dealer and another for a sculptor. In Brussels, we are in the early stages of the conversion of an atelier into a family home. We do often try to understand how this type of client came to feel comfortable in asking us to work with them. We increasingly think it’s because we ask a lot from our clients, in the sense that we expect them to actively ‘complete’ the work via their own involvement, either practically or conceptually. For these types of clients, it just seems natural that they would want to reflect themselves in the work. Perhaps this reveals something about us too, being more comfortable in projects where our part of the work isn’t explicitly clear. In addition, we have recently made a real push to involve ourselves in smaller gallery and exhibition scenography projects which we used to take on during the early days of our studio. This type of work provides an opportunity to work quickly and instinctively in a really rewarding way.
How do you see the potential for architects in Brussels
It's tough, but it’s probably tough in most places given the pressures are not particularly unique to Brussels. The work we do will never be spectacularly successful financially, so there is a tightrope to be walked in ensuring that it remains interesting and stimulating as a form of compensation. It’s therefore quite easy to become disillusioned when things don’t work as envisioned, and on occasion we look to the competition process as an opportunity to take a step in a slightly different direction in terms of the type or scale of projects. However, each time we are reminded that this world prioritises a very specific set of past experience and portfolio of work which means only a small pool of architects are eligible. As a result, we have found it a largely closed door to a small and young practice. To answer your question, we see the potential that Brussels offers, as opposed to London for instance, as a context where architects, particularly smaller practices, can still pursue the work that interests them and take the time to explore why it is they do what they do.
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Emilie is one of the 73 locals who has generously contributed to our city guide 'Brussels by locals' by sharing her favourite spots in town.
Pictures by Stephanie De Smet
At the Centre Sportif de la Forêt de Soignes