“Most Belgians Hate Me”: Talking to the Guy Behind 'Ugly Belgian Houses'

Ugly Belgian Houses is known for applying snarky, scathing commentary to Belgium’s eclectic domestic architecture. Initiated by Belgian social media manager and journalist Hannes Coudenys in 2011, it has since gained a worldwide following on Tumblr and Instagram and is now being published as a book. Designed by Specht Studios and published by Borgerhoff-Lamberigts, Coudenys' tome takes aim at the haphazard and “ugly” nature of housing and urban planning in the Belgian countryside. What began as a pet project in this small European nation has put Belgium’s built fabric in the international spotlight, highlighting that country’s widespread flair for unique and individualistic design, provoking the mutual admiration and ire of architecture aficionados and prompting some soul-searching and snickering back home.

We caught up with Coudenys to discuss how his mission has changed over time, what makes Belgium special, and how much people back home dislike his take on Belgian architecture.

The Creators Project: How did Ugly Belgian Houses get started?

Hannes Coudenys: I just took a picture and put it online and immediately there were a lot of people liking it, saying, “Hey, that’s so true—Belgium is full (of ugly houses).” I’m not an architect,  but it’s been cool to learn so much about architecture. The history, where it comes from, how it’s possible that we can build different styles and how we arrived at this chaos. It started off as something funny—it’s still meant to be funny—and I love to see Belgians and people from abroad commenting on and discussing these houses. It’s fun to see that people have really started discussing how we build in Belgium.

Right! You’ve said Ugly Belgian Houses originated from your dissatisfaction and rage with the built environment. But now, you have gotten people interested in Belgium’s unique brand of domestic architecture. You’ve been working on this long enough that you’ve received all kinds of feedback—negative, positive, lawsuits. How has this impacted your interpretation of what you’re doing?

It has changed. I’ve become less dissatisfied. I travel a lot—I drove through Holland, Germany, Denmark a few weeks ago and you see that these other countries still have a lot of space in the countryside. But Belgium is a very, very tiny country and you can’t not see the houses, they’re everywhere. But I love it: the freedom to build here sparks creativity. It’s part of my blood.

It seems you have become a sort of brand ambassador for your country and its collection of ugly architecture. What has the reaction in Belgium been to the blog, and now, the book?

The reaction has been mixed—most of the Belgians hate me, but the people who love Dezeen and Facebook and have a sense of humor, of course, like it.

With every post, some people say “I like it” and other people say “I don’t like it.” Sometimes I post houses that I’m not convinced are ugly. I might not like some of these houses, but I love to hear people’s reactions to these buildings. So, it’s cool! One owner wrote in the newspaper that when I approached him to use his house in the book, I never told him his house was being featured in a book titled Ugly Belgian Houses. He asked why I didn’t call it Special Belgian Houses. And it really is becoming more and more difficult to use the term.

How do regular Belgians feel about their “ugly” houses?

They’re very, very proud. Most people don’t think they’re ugly at all—it’s something they built that shows their uniqueness and character. They love to add little details like mailboxes and the like that say, “this is my house.” In Belgium, almost everyone owns a house. When you finish studying, you get married and you build a house, or buy a house and renovate it.  It’s something that’s been in our culture for a long time. Here, you build your own house with your own architect. After World War II, the government promoted the countryside as a place to live. Here, you can see the five biggest cities in an afternoon and people live everywhere between those big cities. We don’t have any countryside left. They say the countryside will be totally gone in ten years.

Now, there are more urban planning rules, and weird stuff is disappearing in Belgium. I think we have to document how it was because we Belgians love how it is here. We go on holiday and while we might like it there, we always love to come back to our weird, weird things. It’s very cool that people are taking notice of how we live. People who buy my book tell me that they see Belgium and its houses with new eyes.

You started out as an online photo blog, but now you have a book. How did the book deal come about?

The publisher contacted me two years ago and I knew immediately that it wasn’t going to be very easy. In Belgium, we have very strict laws when it comes to copyright: when you photograph a house, you have to get approval from whoever designed it, because it’s considered a work of art, as well as the owner. We had to ring four or five hundred houses and only 50 of them approved.

But now, theres a new energy for the blog: when you watch quiz shows here, Ugly Belgian Houses will pop up as question. It’s become a part of pop culture. When I started, people thought I was an arrogant prick judging their houses. People are more understanding now that this is something typically Belgian and that’s okay to talk about it.

Visit Ugly Belgian Houses on Tumblr and Instagram, and add Hannes Coudenys on Snapchat @Hannes_bhc for more.

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