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Philippe Samyn earned his civil engineering
degree from the
ulb
in 1971. It was a key moment:
information technology was beginning to appear in
courses, but the teaching content was still quite
analytical and technical, with a solid training in
analytical resolution – using mathematical mod-
els – of physical phenomenon. The teaching staff
was excellent, with professors including Pierre
Baudoux for electricity, Jacques Devooght in quan-
tum physics, André Jaumotte for turbomachines
and Jean Kestens for fluid mechanics. The result
was that our civil engineering skills were not
limited to the design and calculation of structures,
but also included technical equipment, the environ-
ment and materials physics, all of which are so
important today, particularly concerning sustain-
able construction.
Philippe Samyn became aware, during his studies,
of the importance of geometry in defining the limits
of the possible in urban planning. In his thesis,
9
he
established the relationship between the population and
its gross
10
and net densities
11
(figure 2)
, and thereby
deduced the relationship between these densities
and the height of various types of buildings
(figure
3)
. Philippe Samyn then completed his studies at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (
mit
), where he
was awarded a Master of Science in Civil Engineering
in 1973. From this experience, he says that he ‘learned
how to work, that one can never work enough and that
there is no problem so complicated that it cannot be
solved’. In particular, he learned about the importance
of the environment, because even then the first report
PHILIPPE SAMYN’S
TRAINING
of the Club of Rome had predicted what is happening
today. He also learned precise calculation methods for
metal structures (a material primarily used in the United
States) and dynamic effects. Upon returning to Europe,
where concrete predominates, he would have to wait
twenty years before being able to work with lighter
structures. He began to experiment with the use of
metal with the bridge at the PetroFina research centre
in Feluy
(01-197)
, his first large metallic work (with
wooden planking). He would have to wait to become
better known before he received commissions in this
area. Starting with the
ocas
project in Ghent
(01-223)
,
a number of engineers became his clients. His first
wooden structure was the gymnasium at the Athénée
Royal in Leuze-en-Hainaut
(01-048, figure 4
; not includ-
ed in the anthology
)
, but it was not until the end of the
1980s that opportunities for more ambitious designs
presented themselves, for example the wooden struc-
ture of the forestry centre in Marche-en-Famenne in
1992
(01-279, figures 5)
. His first chance to work with
textile fabric came with the
m
&
g
research centre build-
ing in Venafro, Italy, in 1989
(01-222, figures 6)
. Among
other interests, Philippe Samyn became involved in the
various possible applications for profiled steel sheeting,
in particular torqued sheeting, for which he obtained
the first Belgian patent in 1974
(figure 7)
;
12
two sheets
of profiled steel are placed one on top of the other and
then torqued, ensuring greater rigidity for the whole.
Following recent progress in assembly processes, the
building industry is now taking a renewed interest and
studies are underway.
This initial period of working with simple materials gave
Philippe Samyn time to mature, in particular through
researching how to integrate equipment and fittings
into standard structures in an organised manner. In
1981, the project for the state primary school in Athus
(01-102, figures 8)
allowed him to discover ‘virtual
thickness’, i.e. empty spaces in technical cabinets,
ventilated spaces under floors and false ceilings used as
shafts for cable ducts and natural draught ventilation, as
well as the use of aluminium film as wall insulation. It
Figures 5: Forestry centre building,
Marche-en-Famenne (01-279)
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5
5