Destroyers/Builders founder and Dutch designer Linde Freya Tangelder in what was originally the living space, now her main studio and showroom.
est editor Sophie Lewis travels to Belgium’s Flemish countryside to catch up with Dutch designer Linde Freya Tangelder in her live-work space.
Tangelder started her studio under the name Destroyers/Builders a decade ago, straddling both the collectable and commercial spheres with brutalist pieces that explore contrasting materials, often finished by hand.
Sitting at her desk, that looks out to the deliberately untamed garden and rolling fields, Tangelder describes her home, studio and atelier as a work in progress. Completing the first phase of renovation alongside her partner, she believes that living and working in the space has given her the time to understand what the house really needs—a slow and personal process, which in turn has fed her creatively.
Your home, studio and atelier are located in Asse, just outside of Brussels. Is choosing to live in a quieter location important to your practice?
Linde Freya Tangelder: Yes, very much so. My creativity grows when I feel limited in space and in distraction. It was hard at first to leave the city, but I knew it would allow me to work on new projects without interruption. With so many events internationally that I travel to anyway, it’s a good balance: I can retreat to the countryside to work, then go into the city for events.
Every time I arrive in a big city, like New York, I feel a little shocked, and I have to adapt to the pace and the intensity. But I enjoy both. Walking through a city inspires me, especially its architecture and materials. I couldn’t completely do without that. But for developing ideas and working in my atelier, I need a calm space.
What drew you to the home?
Linde Freya Tangelder: The first time I saw the house wasn’t during an official visit. I could only see the outside. I spoke briefly with the neighbour, walked around the house, and I knew it was special.I was drawn to the brickwork and the fact that the house was made almost entirely of brick and glass. There’s a large curve in the façade, and I love the contrast between the rigid geometry of the house and that one soft curve.
It reminded me of the work of Danish artist Per Kirkeby and his brick sculptures. I thought of him when I saw the house, and I took it as a good sign. Inside, it was quite abandoned and dated, so we stripped a lot out. That felt positive, because we could make it our own.We moved in two and a half years ago.Â
Treating the previously yellowed timber floors with a darker oil creates a strong foundation for Tangelder’s lighter aluminium pieces and carved works.
The Wax, Stone, Light Tangelder designed for Cassina.
Tangelder adapted her process to the existing layout. “In a way, I had to reverse-engineer my practice to fit this house,” she says.
Did you know much about the home’s history before you purchased it?
Linde Freya Tangelder: Yes, the architect was Josef Lietaert. He didn’t build many houses, but he did some artist homes and a project with Dom Hans van der Laan, the well-known Belgian architect. This house was built in 1967 as a simple family home.
It was initially part of the neighbour’s land, which they sold to the first owners. It’s a small plot that looks out onto the neighbouring fields. We bought it directly from the original owners and transformed it into a hybrid home and studio.
You mentioned peeling back layers in each space to reveal the structure. How have you adapted the house to reflect your own design approach?
Linde Freya Tangelder: It was a simple, organic process. We started by changing the floors as they had yellowed from the old lacquer, and treated them with a darker oil. At first, we were afraid it would make the space too dark, but it turned out to be the right decision. The dark floor provides a strong foundation for the house and creates a beautiful contrast with my lighter aluminium pieces and carved works.
We worked room by room, removing what didn’t feel right, and each decision led to the next. We took the entire winter to focus on the renovation, putting our other projects aside, which allowed us to do it properly.Â
Your studio space looks directly out onto the garden, which your partner designed, and the fields beyond. Why is the garden such an important part of the space?
Linde Freya Tangelder: For me, it’s always been fascinating when the interior extends into the exterior; that soft transition between inside and outside. On the terrace, we have a few of my pieces, so when you look at the space, it feels like the outside becomes part of the interior.
At night, the reflections become very important. I have almost no curtains, which would feel strange for a typical home, but it works well for a studio as the light bounces around.
The garden itself is quite wild, which is very intentional. My partner believes that since it’s a forest plot, it should remain that way. He doesn’t want to overly tame it. He did make some key changes to the plan, but his approach is always to keep it as natural as possible.
He was also very involved in the renovation work, and we did almost everything ourselves. The renovation so far has been relatively superficial, and we still have some larger works ahead. We’re taking our time to decide how we might expand the studio or reorganise the private areas upstairs, and thinking carefully about how to divide the space for the future.
How does light affect the experience of being in your home and studio?
Linde Freya Tangelder: Light is one of the most defining elements of this house. It enters the studio space from different directions, filtered by the tall trees outside.
The seasons play a big role, too. Summer is my favourite time to work here because the natural light lasts so long. It extends the day, which makes my work feel more alive, in the way aluminium shines and the way wood catches the light.
I also love that the house reveals the seasons through its reflections. Some mirrors from my collection are hung in specific places so that they only catch light at certain times of the year. In winter, some mirrors glow, while in summer, others do; it’s like a quiet seasonal clock inside the house.
The garden is very green and very present in summer. The colour of the greenery completely transforms the space and even shifts the quality of the light. In winter, the view opens up and you can see much further. You notice other houses, the landscape beyond. It changes the mood entirely.
The Destroyers/Builders Low bench and Mirror screen.
How is your home divided up into spaces for living, working and creating?
Linde Freya Tangelder: The house came with rooms already defined, so instead of starting with an open industrial space where I’d have to build partitions, I adapted my process to the existing layout. In a way, I had to reverse-engineer my practice to fit this house.
What was originally the living space is now the main studio and showroom. I also photograph my pieces in this space. I like to play with compositions, placing older works next to new ones to create a dialogue between different periods of my practice. My desk sits in the middle, where I spend most of my time when I’m not in the atelier. It’s a constant rhythm: back and forth between my computer, the studio, and the making space at the front of the house where I do lacquer work. That room is dust-free, which is essential for finishing processes like lacquering. For example, my Windows of Bobardi series of side tables is finished there.
Further into the house, there’s another room where I make paper maquettes and work with textiles and softer materials. It’s where I develop miniatures and test ideas. When projects are too large to handle here, I work with my woodworker and metalworker in their workshops. Larger pieces are made there, but I bring smaller ones back to this space to finish them.
You were recently in New York City for COLLECTIBLE, represented by Uppercut Gallery. What made it the right platform to showcase your newest works?
Linde Freya Tangelder: It felt like such a long time since I was last in New York, so it was so interesting to get to know the market. Uppercut Gallery is quite experimental yet represent pieces that suit high end interior projects; they have really good taste and represent strong designers. I love that I can bring new concepts and ideas to them and that, because they’re a small gallery, decisions can happen more quickly. It’s a nice balance for me, working on large-scale projects with Cassina and then working on these limited editions with the gallery.
Uppercut Gallery first saw the Reworked chair during another show. From there, we decided to continue the series and create a larger piece together. This new material, the lacquered cotton, is something I see great potential in, so I’m planning to develop it further next year into a larger series.
Alongside the chair, we presented a cast aluminium coffee table with the same texture as the Wall Wax light. For the New York exhibition, we produced the light in white bronze, which gives it a warmer, silvery tone.
It was a duo show with Korean designer Yoon Shun, whose charred wood pieces contrasted with my aluminium works. Even though our approaches are different, we share an interest in materiality, so our works felt very natural together.
I always search for contrast. In the Reworked series, you already have it: textile is soft and warm, aluminium is cold and hard. For the New York booth, we leaned into that by covering the entire space with grey rubber sheets, drawing attention to the materiality of each piece. My next exhibition is at PAD London with a selection of my Slabs series, at Aequo Gallery.
The Sculpting Archetypes chairs in the atelier.
Finally, as a Dutch designer, how does living in Belgium influence your work?
Linde Freya Tangelder: I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I ended up here. People often tell me my work doesn’t feel typically Dutch, and I agree. Aesthetically, I fit better within the Belgian design landscape. Belgium is so strong in art, architecture and design, and I find that very inspiring.
Moving here as a Dutch artist wasn’t easy at first. It can be hard to find your footing in a new country, but I’ve been here almost 15 years now. After a short stint working with Maniera Gallery, I started my own studio, and while it was hard to begin so early, I could shape my practice in my own way.
Over the past 10 years, I’ve learned so much. I want to keep working on limited-edition pieces while also collaborating with companies and design brands. I like bridging these two worlds and it’s what keeps the work dynamic.Â
