Questions with Vincent Van Duysen

The Belgian designer and architect Vincent Van Duysen works ultimately with space. Though his work is often concerned with large, open rooms, whether for offices or homes, hotels or retail, Van Duysen’s spaces are warm and intimate; pared back but elegant, minimal but expressive. With a particular sensitivity to material, to texture and malleability, Van Duysen’s practice emphasises the tactile experience of design, unifying his closely interconnected work in product design, interiors and architecture.
Harmonious and contemplative, Van Duysen’s interiors are the focus of this interdisciplinary practice. His approach is comprehensive and exhaustive; concerned as much with the building’s structure and the furniture as with decoration and accessories, and their vital role in bringing a room together. The Lui&Lei collection, produced in collaboration with Salvatori, demonstrates Van Duysen’s attention to the small details: a paperweight, pen holder, tray, candle holder and container closed with a lid, each formed from a single piece of Bianco Carrara or Verde Alpi marble, and variously covered and lined with brown and dark green eco-leather. Whether on a desk, mantlepiece or hall table, these simple, refined objects bring considered design to essential but often overlooked accessories for the home.