Charles Vandenhove

Charles, Knight Vandenhove (3 July 1927, Teuven – 22 January 2019, Liège) was one of the leading Belgian architects of the 20th century.

His company Charles Vandenhove et associés is based in Liège, Belgium.

Vandenhove graduated in 1945 from the Liège university of applied sciences Saint-Luc and in 1951 from the university of applied sciences for architecture La Cambre in Brussels.

Charles and his wife Jeanne Vandenhove loaned their art collection of post-1945 European art in 2007 for long term to the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht.

He is mostly known for his work in Belgium, the Netherlands and Paris ranging from the 1950s to the 2010s.

Vandenhove became famous with his design for the university campus Sart-Tilman (Liège Science Park) of the University of Liège in the 1970s.

He demonstrated with his project Cour Saint-Antoine in the inner city of Liège that modern functional concepts can be merged with a respect for the historical fabric of the old city.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Vandenhove collaborated with artists such as Sol LeWitt, Daniel Buren and Giulio Paolini in designing buildings such as the academic hospital of Liège, the Koninklijke Schouwburg in The Hague and the La Monnaie in Brussels.

Since the 1990s, Vandenhove was mostly active in the Netherlands.

Many of the homes designed by Vandenhove can be recognized by typical half-round zinc roofs, French balconies and Louvre shutters.

The collection is currently maintained by the Stichting Charles Vandenhove (English: Charles Vandenhove Foundation) and is since 2012 permanently on display in a new home in Ghent, nearby the Henri Van de Veldes Boekentoren.

He also involved artists in the renovation and decoration of his own home, the 16th century city palace Hôtel Torrentius in Liège.

On 19 March 2016; Vandenhove was appointed as doctor honoris causa at the

University of Liège.