Paul Smekens

Paul Smekens, born in Antwerp on 22 June 1890 and died in Antwerp on 15 October 1983, was an Antwerp architect and the father of the architect Jan Smekens. In the 1920s his architecture took on Art Deco features and Dutch influences, notably that of Willem Marinus Dudok. In Antwerp he built the Van Laten house (1926), the Résidence La France with Jan Jacobs (1927), and then, with Carlos Van der Voodt, the Willems house (1927) and the Verswijver complex on Arthur Goemaerelei (1928). His Villa Neefs received the Van de Ven Prize in 1929. He was the executing architect of the Maison Guiette designed by Le Corbusier (1926-1927). In the 1930s he built houses and apartment buildings in the Tentoonstellingswijk; the Straehl building dates from 1935. From 1939 he taught in Antwerp. With Hendrik Wittocx he designed the Internationaal Zeemanshuis in Antwerp, since demolished.

Translated from the French original.