Interior Design at La Cambre. Investigating the impact of chefs d’atelier Lucien François and Christophe Gevers on the interior design programme at the ENSAV La Cambre

This master thesis investigates the history of the interior design programme at the ENSAV La Cambre. By doing so, it contributes to the reconstruction of the broader historiography of interior design. This study is based on existing literature, the personal archives of Lucien François and Christophe Gevers, and the archives of the ENSAV La Cambre. This research was inspired by the FWO research, The emergence of interior architecture in Belgium, 1945-1999: Assessing the impact of education on the identity formation of the design discipline.

In 1939, the interior design programme at La Cambre was formally established. This foundation responded to the growing professionalisation of the interior design discipline and the demand for the instalment of proper formal training. Lucien François, the programme’s first chef d’atelier, led the programme for two decades and incorporated multiple Modernist and architectural references, such as a new material and production techniques course, and the études en loge. In 1959, Christophe Gevers succeeded François, transforming the programme, emphasising practical design assignments inspired by his own professional career. Gevers introduced case studies, reflecting his work in restaurant transformations, exhibition stands, and his collaboration with Flandria.

François and Gevers were the leading figures of the interior design programme at La Cambre, for a shared period of over fifty years. By analysing both protagonists’ oeuvre and their educational backgrounds, this research reconstructs an important part of the programme’s history and uncovers contributions of both men to interior design at La Cambre.