Simone und Lucien Kroll

The seminar Building Documentation is dedicated to the documentation and analysis of the works of Simone (born 1928) and Lucien (1927–2002) Kroll. Both represented, taught, and realised an architectural attitude that was profoundly humane, unconventional, and free from self-importance.

In 1957, Simone and Lucien Kroll founded the Atelier d’Urbanisme, d’Architecture et d’Informatique in Brussels. With their participatory and unorthodox approach, the two Belgian architects went on to occupy a unique position within twentieth-century architecture. Instead of adhering to rigid design principles, they embraced dialogue, diversity, and the active involvement of users. Their best-known project, the student residence La Mémé in Brussels, was developed in close collaboration with students in the late 1960s and stands as a vivid embodiment of their ethos. The result was an apparently chaotic yet joyful and highly functional ensemble — one that was far ahead of its time in terms of participation, adaptability, and user agency.

The Krolls deliberately positioned themselves against the “cult of the star architect” that characterised much of modernism, questioning dominant forms such as the right angle without rejecting technological progress. Their later works — for instance in Hellersdorf and Marne-la-Vallée — continued to reflect this participatory ethos.

The aim of the seminar is to shed light on the work of these two little-known yet influential Belgian architects — a body of work distinguished not only by its social and participatory dimensions but also by its remarkable material and tectonic qualities, and by the strength of its geographical, historical, and cultural embeddedness.

Documenting their buildings is therefore valuable from an architectural-historical perspective, but also of pressing contemporary relevance, as many of these structures now require renovation or face the threat of demolition. The oeuvre of Simone and Lucien Kroll represents an alternative modernity — one defined not by formal rigidity, but by social responsibility, ecological awareness, and human empathy. Their works deserve to be studied, documented, and preserved, as they constitute a significant chapter in the history of Belgian architecture.

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Spring semester 2025

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Winter semester 2024 - 2025