Members
Maarten Gielen (°1984, Ninove) started his career at the age of 15, selling decorative items and objects found at scrap merchants and flea markets to fashion stores and florists. Arriving in Brussels in 2002, he set up BSF to offer technical assistance using salvaged materials to small cultural organizations. Two years later, the association merged with the organizations of Zinneke Parade, where Maarten set up a program for the reuse of industrial waste. In 2005, he established Rotor where he currently works as designer, manager and researcher. In 2012 he was appointed visiting professor in the HEAD in Geneva.
Tristan Boniver (°1976, Brussels) studied architecture in Brussels at the Saint-Luc Institute, the Sint-Lucas School of Architecture and La Cambre School of Architecture (ISACF). Throughout his studies, he worked as a graphic designer, consultant, and developer, both for private clients and associations and on projects in the underground electronic music scene in Brussels. A member of the Brussels collective Boups since 1999, he then worked with Maarten Gielen to set up Rotor, which he has been a member of since 2005. He qualified as an architect in January 2010, after presenting a dissertation on rounded corners.
Lionel Devlieger (°1972, Rwamagana) trained as an architect and engineer in Ghent and Rome. He obtained his PhD in architectural history and theory from Ghent University in 2005. In 2006 he both joined Rotor as a member and set up a practice as an independent contractor, which he interrupted in 2008. He has been (part-time) visiting professor at the Ghent University Architecture Department (2008-2011) and at the University of Virginia School of Architecture (2011). He is currently teaching at UCBerkeley, College of Environmental Design.
Michael Ghyoot (°1986, Brussels)graduated as an architect from La Cambre School of Architecture (ISACF) in 2009. He is a member of Rotor since 2008 and has been actively involved in Rotor’s projects since. In 2010 he became Fellow of the FRS-FNRS, and currently pursues a PhD in architecture at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. For his thesis he studies the relationship between the architectural discipline and the material economy. Michael is a passionate climber, and has enjoyed success in national competitions.
Benjamin Lasserre (°1985, Lille) began his career at the age of 5 in the role of Cléante in Molière’s “The Imaginary Invalid”. He moved to Brussels in 2002 to study stage design at the Saint Luc Institute. During an internship at La Raffinerie (Charleroi/Danses) in 2005, he came across the company Joji Inc, where he worked for 3 years as technical director and assistant to Jim Clayburgh. Among other shows, he was involved in Erase-e(x), Walking On Rocks and Lolita. He also worked with the video artist Kurt D’Haeseleer on Ô’Parleur and developed a project using Lumalive technology with Philips and Swarovski. In 2009, he took part in the KFDA09 project and subsequently became a member of Rotor.
Melanie Tamm (°1974, West Berlin) grew up in the post-industrial Ruhr region. Thanks to the German university system, she was able to switch back and forth in her studies between architecture and social sciences, which led her to explore heritage, redevelopment and research on structures with an emphasis on the post-war period. She gradually relocated to Brussels, finally settling in the city in 2003 after graduating. She works as an architect, specialising in the execution and building phase. She met Maarten Gielen through BSF in 2004 during preparations for the PleinOpenAir festival at the State Administrative Centre, but it was not until 2008 that she joined Rotor on a part-time basis.
Collaborators
Renaud Haerlingen (°1976, Brussels) studied architecture at the Saint-Luc Institute, the TU Delft and the Sint-Lucas School of Architecture. Since then he collaborated with Tristan Boniver on multiple projects. As member of the Brussels collective Boups, he organized public happenings such as Le Gazon and was involved in the creation of Plan B, a shared space in Brussels downtown. Renaud lived in the Middle East (Beirut, Dubai, Doha) in 2005 and 2006 where he worked on the design development of architectural projects. In 2008 he followed a postgraduate program in international politics. Renaud has been involved in Rotor's projects since October 2010, both in research and in administrative and logistical operations.
Tine Segers(°1987, Turnhout) studied a bachelor engineering-architecture at the University of Ghent. She was involved in the making of exhibitions as intern spatial design at the Netherlands Architectural Institute and as student in the Transpavillion in Berlin. During her studies she focussed on research and design in cities as Brasilia, Brasil and Kumasi, Ghana with a special focus on the adaption and durability of interventions in a context that reaches further than the strict urban and architectural. She collaborates with Rotor since graduating at TU Delft with a master in architecture in 2010 (in the specialisation Renovation-Modification-Intervention Techniques).
Lionel Billiet(°1986, Brussels) developed his interest in materials as a child through a great diversity of tinkering realizations. Before deciding to study science, Lionel studied a year in illustration & graphic design. He met the Rotor team for the first time in 2007 as a voluntary worker during the assembly of their temporary office – a 'hanging' structure in the city centre that was built in a few weeks. Lionel gratuated in 2010 as a bio-engineer from the VUB, Brussels, where he wrote a master thesis in quantum chemistry. Since then, he became involved in Rotor, focussing mainly on research on building and demolition waste.
Koen Berghmans
Recent publications
(Articles about specific projects can be found on the project pages).
Practically Speaking- Surface Magazine 2011
The Best of the Biennale - Architect Magazine (Aaron Betsky) - 09/2010
"Rotor - L'architecture d'occasion" in d'Architectures n°196, december 2010 (pdf), written by Valéry Didelon.
Kunstenfestivaldesarts 2009 Interview Lionel Devlieger & Maarten Gielen (pdf)