Andy Malengier, born in Ypres on 9 June 1971, has a clear design philosophy: it should produce a positive effect on people’s state of mind as well as the (re)arrangement of outdoor space.
As a child, Andy had an unwavering predilection for nature, landscapes and drawing. At the age of 15, Andy moved to Ghent to attend classes at the Artistic Humanities department of Sint-Lucas. There, he came into contact with drawing and design disciplines, as well as architecture, design, art, painting, model building and more. That education turned out to be a fantastic foundation for his later move to Melle, where he continued his studies at HoGent University of Applied Sciences and Arts at the Department of Life Sciences and Landscape Architecture.
When he graduated from tertiary education, Andy Malengier did not immediately set out to work as an independent garden architect. Instead, he began his career by working at a series of landscaping companies in order to gain practical experience. At the same time, Andy was pursuing his postgraduate studies in the Monuments and Landscape Department at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. However, he left his course prematurely to take up an offer to become the deputy head of the Parks and Gardens Department for the City of Wervik.
Three years later, he made the move to working independently when he founded his own design office. His field of work is very broad, encompassing all aspects of the design of private and public spaces, from masterplanning to fine-tuning the final few millimetres on site.
In particular, his designs for cemeteries have effortlessly distinguished themselves. A unique achievement was Malengier’s design for Wervik park cemetery. With this project, he won the International Funeral Award (IFA) in 1999, where he was in competition with the well-known Italian architect Bernardo Secchi and his realisation of the Kortrijk cemetery.
In 2004, Andy’s work was again recognised with an IFA, this time in the funerary art category for several gravestone designs. His next IFA was awarded in 2007 for the realisation of four cemeteries developed for the Municipality of Zonnebeke. Since that time, Andy has been commissioned to study cemeteries across Flanders. Andy Malengier went on to win the design competition with his design for a new cemetery in Watou and also received an award for his design for Vleteren’s new cemetery.
In addition to distinctions earned in the world of cemeteries, Andy also won an important competition with the recent renewal of Oostnieuwkerke’s village centre. The redesign of the municipal park in Wevelgem was also named best park realisation in Flanders of 2018. Clearly, the goal of distinguishing his practice in the area of cemeteries, and within the discipline of landscape architecture in general, has been achieved!
Vleteren park cemetery inauguration – Photo Friedel Pil
‘The power of the discipline of garden and landscape architecture lies in the art of creating places that stimulate the senses, provide joy, encompass paradoxes, reflect traditions and engender expectations. These places have aesthetic qualities that are enduring and valued, independently of the specific economic and social conditions they are created from.’ – Sven-Ingvar Andersson (1927-2007), Swedish landscape architect and professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen (Source: ‘Lexicon van de tuin- en landschapsarchitectuur’ by Meto J. Vroom)
This wonderful definition of the true work of the garden and landscape architect is consistently applied in the drawing up of plans and the giving of advice concerning the (re)design of private and public outdoor spaces.