Paul Felix

Paul Felix (°Ostend, December 8, 1913 – †Ostend, January 5, 1981) was a Belgian architect in Ostend.

He introduced a “sober and functional style ‘in Belgium.

Paul Felix, elder brother of lawyer, ships and painter Jan Felix, attended high school at the Notre Dame College in Ostend, and then graduated as an engineer-architect (1937) at the Catholic University of Leuven. He realized pretty quickly a first project: a school in Slijpe. In his early years he combined designing with teaching assignments in the Our Lady college and technical school in Ostend.

From 1945, he founded an own architectural firm. Gradually broke modernism in his designs. His style was characterized by a clear geometry and sober materials. With his achievements he made an important contribution to the modernism of the fifties in Belgium, especially in Catholic circles.

In 1952 he was extraordinary professor in 1958 and professor outside the architecture department of the Faculty of Applied Sciences of the Catholic University of Leuven, where he introduced a radical restructuring of architectural education. He became a corresponding member (1962) and a working member (1965) of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts.