Christian Kieckens

Christian Kieckens (°Aalst January 24, 1951 – †Brussels May 11, 2020) was a Belgian architect.

Kieckens started as an architect in 1974 and founded the CKA office in 2001.

The office points towards a diversity of commissions, from small objects, graphic design for art and architecture books, interior design and scenography, to the architecture of private buildings, housing complexes and industrial programs. The scale of these demands changed recently into urban projects, supervision of master plans and interventions in the area of infrastructure. This gives a great diversity on the range and office profile, resulting in a constant interchanging. Attention is constantly given to the preciseness of the objects, the definition of details, the reflecting on proportions and the choice of materials. Where possible, specific interventions support the projects, not as a supplementary ‘schmuck’ but in the collaboration with artists, engineers, graphic designers, landscape architects, a.o. whose ideas are directly integrated in the design process.

The work of CKA is widely published and exhibited, from small presences till the Architectural Biennial of Venice. Christian Kieckens has won the Godecharle Prize for Architecture and the Culture Prize of the Flemish Community. The list of clients does not only include private persons but also public commissioners such as City Councils, and the Flemish Community. Therefore an intentional declaration of methodical planning reflects the philosophy of the office.

Each project originates by the responsible (project)architect and has a proper identity and character. A great consciousness and emphatic feeling for responsibility are created by each of the participants in the project and this relationship is a warranty for immediate interventions. For the reason of specificities concerning the realisation of the projects, the office collaborates with firms and companies who are specialised in this discipline, so there is a more intentional aim on all the domains till the final result. Each expression of beauty is the result of intuition that is linked and argued by the research out of different starting points. Each result of an excellent use originates out of the research on spatial satisfaction that goes beyond a good plan.