Bataille & Ibens
After graduating in 1968, Paul ibens established an interior design agency with Claire Bataille. In a career spanning some forty years, they built up an impressive oeuvre ranging from homes, offices and retail spaces to objects and furniture. In addition to interior design, Paul ibens was a tenured lecturer at the Department of Interior Architecture at the University of Antwerp, formerly the National Higher Institute for Architecture and Town Planning (NHIBS). Click here for the reactions of fellow lecturers to his death.
The Bataille & ibens agency soon achieved international recognition, as evidenced by the many prizes and mentions in professional literature and journals. In 2001, the duo received the Henry Van De Velde Career Award, followed by the interior design prize Fidias in 2009, from the Association of Interior Architects in Belgium (AiNB), for their rich oeuvre and impact on interior architecture. Their wooden construction system ‘78 Plus’ (1982), featuring a patented corner join, also received an award from the Belgian Design Center. Bataille & ibens actively participated in exhibitions and fairs such as Interieur Kortrijk, exhibitions organised by VIZO (Design Flanders) and those by the Design Museum in Ghent, and the exhibition Mobilia on 100 years of Belgian architecture and design history.
