Directed by Lionel Jadot
Written by Jérôme Hoppe
Translated by Rune E. McKellar
Designed by Juliette Amigues
Photographed by Stan Huaux & Jeremy Marchant

Since the fall of 2019, the modern-day guild of Zaventem Ateliers has been granted its very own scribe: Jérôme Hoppe, then an anthropology student, chose to write his master's thesis about this community of creative studios. He then stayed on to continue in his role as privileged observer of the ZA adventure. Combining an analytical and global outlook based on (very) long-term presence with informal and specific interviews, he paints a personal picture focusing on the human dimension of the team, inviting us to meet the family who inhabit this old factory.

The duo of photographers formed by Stan Huaux and Jeremy Marchant have joined in this game of observation and long-term contact with their subject, which led them to integrate into the daily life of the workshops, capturing lived-in shots of the intimacy of creation.

These unreleased photos join the text to make a statement about the reltional, social and societal dimension of what is playing out within ZA’s walls, bringing to life the interactions discussions, collaborations and collective life of the artists and designers.

Juliette Amigues combined her graphic design abilities with her bibliophile bookbinder sensibilities to craft this hybrid art book, written and photographed from an inside perspective.

This balance of skills makes her the obvious choice to showcase text and illustraFonsin a layout in pure ZA style, with parFcular care for the material and tactile aspects of the physical volume.

All of this is taking place under the creativ, versatile and playful gaze of Lionel Jadot.

Together, and in daily contact with the creators gathered in Zaventem, they created an original and exciting object: a journey to meet a group of people, all different, and all united by their relationshop with the materiality of things.

Zaventem Ateliers is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year. Founded in 2018 at the initiative of Lionel Jadot in a former paper factory on the outskirts of Brussels, it has already sparked a lot of interest over the course of its short but dense history. Early on, Lionel began selecting artisans to join Zaventem, gradually assembling a group of handpicked makers who have grown into a unique collective, a cohesive and influential entity which shows no signs of slowing down. After his team of architects earned the opportunity to renovate the Royale Belge building, a masterpiece of 1960s brutalist architecture, Lionel gave carte blanche to the ZA artisans to work on the project under his direction - the first time the group have worked all together. Employing a horizontal approach with no middlemen, firmly anchored in the building’s aesthetic, Lionel, his team of architects, and the crafters of the 25 studios that (literally) surround them, along with 27 other belgian designers, set to work to create furniture, light fixtures, sculptures, tapestries, curtains, accessories and more, all crafted specially for this unique location and bring out the unique atmosphere that defines The Mix. The astonishing and timeless result of this long-running project has fully restored the radiance of a landmark building in the Brussels landscape. This widely publicized event in the world of Belgian and international design demonstrates the ambition and vitality of the ZA project, and represents the perfect opportunity to materialize an idea that has been germinating for several years: the publication of a book about Zaventem Ateliers.