Rooted in time

hé! architecture is a Brussels-based architecture firm founded by Hanne Eckelmans and Renée Verhulst. Their interventions are always closely linked to an evolving context — with residents, local communities, and the broader ecological and social systems of which they are a part. The architectural process includes a thorough reading of ‘the existing’ and a careful inventory of the past, to which new interventions formulate a challenging but respectful response. They believe in an architecture that allows room for growth, decay, and transformation. Therefore, the office advocates an approach that is reversible, open, and adaptable over time. Projects such as Omloop (2023, Roosdaal, BE) and Karper (2022, Molenbeek, BE) are excellent examples of the success of this method.

A strong connection with time is ever present due to visibility of the transformation processes and the use of the combination of second-hand materials and new, regenerative materials. Interventions are not considered as fixed end points, but as temporary snapshots within a continuous process of change. Their practice is an honest approach which, together with a progressive search for sustainable materiality, leads to well-founded, tactile, and intimate architecture.