As the son of an abstract painter, Maarten Van Severen (1956) has become one of the best-known Belgian designers. In the late eighties he started to create furniture in his own workshop in Gent (BE). His designs are simple, clear and well thought-out. They reflect his quest for perfection in form, detail and execution. This attitude and the following growing co-operation with leading furniture manufacturers such as Vitra (CH), Edra (IT), Bulo (BE), Light (BE), Durlet (BE)...were the basis for many revolutionary design projects. Also the interiors he designed are much discussed: the architect Rem Koolhaas entrusted him with the interiors of his most renowned buildings such as Villa dall' Ava in Paris (FR) and the house in Floirac, near Bordeaux (FR).<BR>Today Maarten Van Severen Studio is working on a whole range of projects. Recent works are the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven (NL) where he created a new library, bookshop, auditorium and restaurant, a kitchen pavilion for a catering business near Gent (BE) and a research and developing project about food and cutlery. This book is the most complete publication about Maarten Van Severen. It contains eight contributions of colleagues, experts, manufacturers and it reveals dozens of new photographs of his designs and realisations.