Editorial Design for La Nouvelle Maison

Belgian designer and architect Henry van de Velde was one of the defining multidisciplinary figures of early modernism. In 1902, he founded the Großherzoglich-Sächsische Kunstgewerbeschule in Weimar, Germany — the institution that would later evolve into the Bauhaus. In 1915, van de Velde recommended Walter Gropius as his successor at the Kunstgewerbeschule; when the school was reorganized and merged in 1919 to form the Bauhaus, Gropius became its founding director.

In 1927, after several years spent in Switzerland and the Netherlands, van de Velde completed his final residence, La Nouvelle Maison, in Brussels. Acquired by Thomas Rabe in 2015, the house subsequently underwent an extensive and meticulous restoration led by architect Guido Stegen.

Pentagram Berlin was commissioned to design the accompanying publication, tracing the complete history and restoration of the house.

Pentagram partner Justus Oehler describes the conceptual approach behind the book:

“We wanted the book to resonate equally with architects and with readers interested in architecture more broadly — particularly those drawn to the restoration of listed buildings. Van de Velde based the proportions of La Nouvelle Maison on the dimensions of the bricks he had originally selected. When he later opted for a different brick because of its coloration, the proportions of the entire house had to be subtly recalibrated.”

“Inspired by this logic, I developed the book’s typographic and layout grid directly from the brick structure of the house itself, resulting in narrow vertical gutters and unusually generous horizontal spacing. Even the format of the book follows this underlying system.”

“One of the central challenges was integrating more than 200 photographs, drawings, and illustrations — contributed by the architect and other collaborators — documenting materials, construction details, and every stage of the restoration process. We ultimately chose to work with two different paper stocks: an uncoated paper for the documentary sections, emphasizing tactility and process, and a coated stock for the photographic section to enhance image reproduction and depth.”

The publication is divided into three sections:

• Part I (26 pages): an introduction to van de Velde’s life, work, and the original construction of the house in the 1920s.
• Part II (56 pages): the core of the book, comprehensively documenting the restoration of La Nouvelle Maison through more than 200 photographs, illustrations, and architectural drawings.
• Part III: a concluding photographic essay featuring 70 images by photographer Florian Holzherr, capturing the restored house and its architectural details after completion.

Published by Prestel Publishing, La Nouvelle Maison measures 345 × 288 mm and comprises 144 pages.