In demand: designer Vincent van Duysen on lifetime achievement and his new Molteni & C Dada flagship

Just a few days after unveiling Molteni&C’s elegant new London flagship, Vincent van Duysen is back in his native Belgium picking up an award. Not just any award, but the Henry van de Velde Lifetime Achievement Award.

Highly prestigious, this accolade in honour of meaningful and good design, it’s clearly a proud moment for the architect, who holds the award’s namesake in high esteem.

Though it might seem early in his career to be celebrating lifetime achievements, van Duysen’s body of work to date suggests otherwise: designer of homes, shops, offices, and furniture for international design names such as Flos and Herman Miller, he has held the role of artistic director for Molteni&C | Dada for years, and now for German brand Sahco too.

The awards ceremony and new showroom, progress with his own house in Portugal, a department store in Bangkok and a new book are just examples of a series of his recent highpoints. No surprise to learn that his schedule is jam packed.

For a design heavyweight in demand, however, he’s unpretentious and affable. “It’s been crazy, and there’s a lot of travelling – I’m lucky to be working on some incredible projects around the world.”

He alludes to the design of an HQ for a big brand that must be kept under wraps. “And then there’s my first hotel. This is really exciting. It’s opening at end of March in Antwerp – the same team as behind hotel Julian – and everything is custom made.” Molteni, Flos, Sahco – all of Van Duysen’s collaborators are partnering on the project.

It is residential that remains a specialty, however, and a swoosh around the new Molteni space on London’s Brompton Road confirms this: many will simply want to move in.

With five large windows and a monolithic door, the site wraps a prime corner spot across from the V&A and is a gorgeous showcase of Milanese style while celebrating Molteni&C | Dada’s considerable history.

Played out over two floors, joined by a dramatic staircase in travertine marble and walnut, the 700 sq m space has the intimacy of a private home.

On the ground floor, the space is articulated by a series of arches left in situ from the original architecture. Featuring lush winter gardens, suspended wooden ceilings and a warmly enveloping earth-tone colour palette, it’s a high impact yet welcoming and gracious backdrop for the brands’ signature and contemporary pieces.

These are arranged into kitchen, living room and bedroom concepts, where Van Duysen’s own product designs sit harmoniously alongside those from Jean Nouvel and Patricia Urquiola, among others.

Gio Ponti’s final creations, arranged in vignettes that will be the dream for design Instagrammers, offer plenty of opportunities to covet a classic.

To mark the opening, a series of works by six contemporary up and coming artists from Rome’s Galleria Operativa hang throughout the space.

Curated by Caroline Corbetta, the collection has been specifically designed to complement the furniture designs and architecture alike, cleverly offsetting the flawlessly polished finish.

That Van Duysen’s Antwerp office is currently overseeing 40 projects with a team of just 25 tells of his hands-on approach. “We are extremely busy,” he laughs. “They are all great projects but I’m a control freak; I get involved personally with all of them.”

That’s why, he explains, it’s so important to be careful when choosing his clients. “For me it is necessary that I have a good feeling of chemistry with my clients – they are like friends, family,” he says.

“There is nothing to hide, and that comes from both sides. It takes two to dance. Give and take. Inspiring and being inspired: my best projects are projects a little out of my comfort zone, and human connection is more important than any amount of money. I need to know who my clients are, why they are coming to me and what they want from me.”

Like Belgium’s design hero, Henry van de Velde, Van Duysen brings powerful architecture, interior design and aesthetics together in a way that uplifts and calms the soul, and provides a sheltering refuge in this hectic, non-stop world.

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