Louis Herman de Koninck Sold at Auction Prices

Louis Herman De Koninck (1896-1984)

Personal Desk of the Architect - c.1930 Elm wood, blue linoleum and Cubex units 74 x 185 x 112 cm With a certificate by Monique De Koninck, daughter of the architect. Published L. H. De Koninck, architecte, Catalogue Archives d'Architecture Moderne, 1.10-15.10.1973, ill. n° 63 (detail) De Koninck is to be considered as one of the most prominent architects of modernist and constructivist architecture in Belgium. The desk presented here was the personal worktable of the architect. It is made out of an assembly of found materials: a chest of drawers, a big slab of wood covered with linoleum and with hooks at the edges which allow large-sized plans to be rolled out and attached to by means of elastic bands, and a set of three modules of Cubex® cupboards. At first sight a brutal assembly of diverse elements, this desk carries in it the history and genesis of so many designs and buildings that have become classics in Belgian architecture history. As the designer of the Cubex® kitchen modules, De Koninck also played a pioneering role in the practical organization of kitchen interiors. Created in Belgium, these modules could be produced on an industrial scale. Units could be combined freely to adapt to every need of the modern kitchen. They were first presented at the CIAM (International Congress of Modernist Architecture) in 1930. Their distinctive style with rounded edges of the doors and chrome-plated rounded handles have made the Cubex® a timeless design classic. In this sense, the versatility of these kitchen cupboards is simply pushed to its extreme by integrating them in an architect's working table.