“La Mémé”, medical house, the house of medical students, Woluwé-Saint-Lambert, Belgium, 1970. Lucien Kroll was born on March 13, 1927, in Brussels and studied at the Higher National Institute and School of the Chamber as well as the Higher Institute of Urbanism, graduating in 1951. Between 1951 and 1957, he shared an architecture studio with Charles Vandenhove in Brussels. He met Simone Pelosse in Lyon in 1956, and she was already well known locally for her work in cultural networks and neighborhood preservation. After spending time at the Arts et Métiers school in Paris, she became a potter and remained politically active. Her network included figures such as Gaston Bachelard, Célestin Freinet, Bocuse, and even Le Corbusier, all of whom she engaged with alongside her neighbors.
Together with Simone (born 1928), he established the Lucien Kroll urban planning and architecture studio. The office flourished between 1970 and 1990, during which architecture faced strong criticism and debates. Kroll challenged functionalist approaches, famously declaring that "architecture cannot be purely rational," emphasizing human needs over strict rules.
Kroll preferred designing "with" people rather than simply "for" them, promoting creative participation in every project.
The design of La Mémé in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert illustrates this participatory approach. The medical students’ residence, built between 1970 and 1976 as part of the UCL campus extension, involved close collaboration with students. Kroll and his team also planned public areas, gardens, walkways, and other campus facilities, including the Alma metro station and surrounding structures, between 1979 and 1982.
Lucien Kroll, Cohabita, av. de la Renaissance, rues Murillo, Hobbema, Leys, Brussels, Belgium, 1976.
In Perseigne, Alençon, Normandy, he led the renovation of a residential complex in 1978, working closely with the residents to adapt and add features while preserving community identity. The upper floors were partly dismantled and rebuilt, with additional floors added on some buildings, enhancing diversity and strengthening residents’ attachment to the space.
In the residential neighborhood Les Chênes d’Emerainville in Marne-la-Vallée, France (1980-1982), Kroll implemented a pilot project with family housing, arranging buildings irregularly along streets and around squares to create a small-town feel. The constructions were made of precast concrete elements with custom cladding to reinforce a unique identity for the neighborhood.
“La Mémé”, medical house, the house of medical students, Woluwé-Saint-Lambert, Belgium, 1970.
The Zilvervloot residential neighborhood in Dordrecht, the Netherlands (1998-2005), had deteriorated over the decades. Kroll developed a remediation plan aiming to restructure existing blocks and break repetitive patterns, often resulting in an intentionally eclectic aesthetic.
Throughout his career, and with Simone, he completed more than 100 projects, spanning schools, housing complexes, and care facilities across France, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands.
With his passing, the architectural world lost a figure whose work profoundly shaped the landscapes of Belgium and Brussels, leaving a lasting impression on all who encountered it.
