LIPS Life People Space

13/12/2025

DIALOGUE BY REFLECTION TOOLS & TOPICS

“I know what you mean.”
It’s one of the most common phrases we use to show understanding — but do we really?

At LiPS, we believe that genuine interaction between stakeholders is essential. In our design process we step into each other’s minds.

How? Through real dialogue triggered by reflection topics and supported by a range of tools.

Recurring key themes that guide the debate are cultivating a strategic mindset, bringing life to the project,...

Our core tool is “the table” - a tactile space for collective decision-making. Around the table, participants can add, remove, and rearrange graphic materials to express ideas, explore possibilities, and discover hidden connections.

We fill the table with:
A 3D model to allow different scenarios to be tested quickly and interactively, to evaluate the comfort (wind, sun, privacy).
The plan and sketches to clearly depict in 2D the framework of open space and flows in relation to the building zones.
Cross-sections that reveal deeper spatial and contextual relationships.
A virtual walk through to feel the spatial experience at eye level.
References and atmospheric images to align atmosphere, identity, and intent.
A project calculation table to provide insight into the space balance, financial feasibility, phasing.

So next time you say, “I know what you mean,” pause for a moment.

Lay your ideas on the table - literally. Use the tools, share what resonates, and clarify what doesn’t.

Because life, and design, become so much richer when everyone is truly on the same page - or better yet, on the first page of a great project story.

12/12/2025

ENJOY PLAYING

Finding your inner child isn’t nostalgia.
To design safer, more playful, and more inclusive cities, we need to remember what it feels like to explore the world with curiosity and vulnerability. Children don’t see the city as a set of zones. They see adventures, no boundaries. To support their freedom and growth, we must see the city through their eyes.

In a study for the Municipality of Prague 5, we explored environments that nurture the healthy development of children and youth. We began with the target group - their daily movements, age-specific needs, and the types of spaces they rely on. This formed the basis of a “children’s infrastructure”: a connected network of safe, accessible spaces that enable kids to move freely. We focused on 3 core needs: move, think, and meet. Cities should support this th*****me through opportunities for play, exploration, and social interaction.

But play isn’t only for kids. Through the LSCAPE project, we invite people of all ages to use, shape, and transform public space with play as the driving force. Simple materials - pallets, bottles, tires - are creatively reused. Local communities become the designers, builders, and caretakers. These “happy happenings” don’t just reshape space; they build relationships. Neighbors meet, exchange ideas, and co-create flexible, evolving places grounded in real local needs.

When urbanists reconnect with wonder and joy, they don’t just design better spaces for children — they design better cities for everyone.
The playground never ends, and neither should our responsibility.

12/12/2025

KEEP ON LEARNING

At LiPS, we believe research is essential to creating bold, unexpected out-of-the 'known' box solutions. Often, people need to experience an alternative before realizing it’s exactly what they’ve been looking for.

As designers, we strive to go beyond conventional ideas and introduce new typologies that reflect a broader vision of how we live. And it all starts with asking the right questions, reflect and keep on learning.

One of those questions - “How do you want to live now?” - inspired our exploration of diverse housing models. We challenge traditional formats of houses and apartments. Our concept, Living Apart–Together, creates a neighborhood “bubble” that encourages interaction and helps counter loneliness. It allows residents to choose their own balance between independence and social connection. At the heart of this approach is the “in-between” zone - the transition between public and private life. Here, residents collaboratively define shared spaces while still maintaining personal privacy.
We also combine different housing typologies into a single, compact volume. Smaller, efficient private gardens open onto a shared green area, and integrated mobility zones support both cars and bicycles. This shows that individuality doesn’t have to mean using more space.

As our projects evolve, new questions continue to guide our research:
"How can we meaningfully combine living and working?"
"Are we fully exploring the potential of retail sites?"

These questions lead us to investigate post-industrial areas and retail typologies. But our work doesn’t stop at research — it’s about transforming ideas into reality.

Curiosity keeps us moving forward.

11/12/2025

LOOK BEYOND THE BLUR

Uncertainty is everywhere — and that’s exactly where we come in.

At LiPS, we begin with a potential scan: a fast, creative reality check that uncovers the hidden strengths of a site. It’s where feasibility meets imagination.
Within a short timeframe, this scan offers a first glimpse of what’s possible. We analyze the spatial context and applicable regulations, explore the potential program, shape a concept based on built–open–flux space, and design a qualitative test layout supported by inspiring references.

To be able to look forward, we listen.
Because every site is like a person with a story worth hearing.
The inherent built and open space as basic chapters of that story aren't opposites - they are potential BFFs. They can strengthen, support, and protect one another. That’s why we see open space not as a leftover, but as a key design element from the very beginning. Natural, productive, designed landscape is never a backdrop or an afterthought. It’s the foundation.

Through meaningful conversation, we discover what the site has experienced, how it has evolved, and why. Urbanism should not try to control space — it should care for it, and be sensitive to its needs.

When you start seeing space as a living presence, you’ll find “friends” everywhere.
And we don’t do any of this alone.
We also bring you in — because each of us carries our own expertise and perspective.
Together, we’re simply smarter.

11/12/2025

OPEN UP YOUR MIND

At LiPS, we believe that creating places is about far more than shaping physical environments.
It’s about fostering connections that transcend cultures, disciplines, and borders.
Urban design cannot be narrowed down to masterplans - we put the light on people, relationships, and shared intentions.
Every project becomes a journey of collaboration, dialogue, and community-building.

Our latest adventure took us far from the familiar, to Shizuoka, Japan, where we teamed up with Sozosya Design Office. Together, we engaged with a diverse range of voices and tackled two exciting projects: a vibrant street design and a mixed-use urban quarter at a key station node.

At LiPS, we stand by some essential core beliefs:
- When people share knowledge openly, communities flourish.
- Urbanism is never just technical - it’s profoundly human.
- It’s not only about space. It concerns Life, People, and Space - and how they shape one another.

Through multiple participatory moments, both in Belgium and abroad, we gathered a broad circle of stakeholders from various fields. Guided by this spirit of interaction, we launched our Sharing is Caring series on social media - a platform where everyone is invited to contribute something meaningful. Sometimes simply about life: a thought, a story, an experience. Because true collaboration is rooted in empathy, openness, and the willingness to connect on a human level.

Together, as modern explorers, we aim to leave a lasting and meaningful impact.
We keep crossing borders, expanding minds, and building something truly shared.

11/12/2025

WE

“Mum… what are you doing? What does LiPS build?”

A simple question from my son — yet one that reminded me why we do what we do.
It also challenged me: How do you explain to a child what our work is really about?

I’m Lieve De C**k, architect, urbanist, and founding partner at LiPS.
I’m honoured to be hosted this week by Women in Architecture Belgium.

LiPS is a multidisciplinary, multicultural team shaped by each place, each moment, and each client.
We believe in refining the relationship between life, people, and the spaces they inhabit.
We don’t simply create plans — we shape the conditions for life to unfold.
As urban designers, we envision what cannot be drawn: relationships, rhythms, and transitions. We plan the life you cannot plan. Our work is not about creating something finished, but about preparing space for the unfinished, allowing life itself to take over.

Our philosophy is rooted in six core principles — our LiPS Circle:
- act as role models, setting standards through integrity and vision
- build bridges between people, disciplines, scales, functionality & beauty, and moments in time
- believe in teamwork, because collaboration unlocks creativity
- inspire, sharing passion and perspective
- guide projects from concept to impact as caring curators
- focus on realization, ensuring ideas don’t remain dreams but become meaningful places where people truly belong

And like a child discovering the world, our work is never truly finished — because life is always evolving.
We shape the invisible. You may not always see it… but you can feel it.

06/06/2025

CAN AFFORDABLE HOUSING BE RICH?

This question sparked a vital discussion this week at the HOUS Committee of the European Parliament, with experts like Lieve De C**k of LiPS leading the conversation.

The key insight?
RICHNESS in housing shouldn’t be defined by price, but by QUALITY OF LIFE.
A HOUSE becomes a true HOME when it fosters CONNECTION TO PEOPLE, NATURE & THE WHOLE.

01
SOCIAL INTERACTION gives energy, prevents loneliness, gives purpose to our actions... As designers and policymakers, we cannot force community, but we can trigger it to grow.
Providing complementary programs, hybrid spaces for multi use in a residential area injects liveliness through fluidity in time. When residents are empowered to actively shape their environment, it positively influences the home feeling.
By involving people early in the design process, we cultivate a sense of ownership and care, turning mere structures into places that feel cherished and lived-in.

02
True richness also grows from BIOPHILIA. Green spaces contribute to well-being and improve concentration and creativity. On top of the individual advantages natural landscapes support a climate resistant environment.

03
Affordable housing should not exist in isolation, but as part of a diverse, INCLUSIVE neighborhood, where safe, accessible pathways link residents to vital services, work, and one another. When homes are integrated into a thriving, interconnected environment, they offer far more than just shelter, they offer a SENSE OF BELONGING.

https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/webstreaming/hous-committee-meeting_20250602-1530-COMMITTEE-HOUS

19/12/2024

Do you still remember how it feels to DISCOVER THE WORLD?
How it feels to learn a new language or a skill?

The start is fast and wild. Challenging and rewarding at the same time.
As is designing outside of our usual comfort zone, outside of the known and "safe".
But all the unexpected challenges are rewarded with a satisfying feeling of newly acquired knowledge and skills. With a simple joy from thinking out and applying new innovative solutions.
And most importantly, rewarded with a feeling of making a DIFFERENCE. Ever so slightly :)

The MASTERPLAN for the new mixed-use area around the HIGASHI-SHIZUOKA TRAIN STATION is our introductory and (one might say) eye-opening project in Japan.

The potential of this A-location as one of the crucial urban cores should be valued. We believe that this project site should be the catalyst for the city of Shizuoka to become an EXEMPLARY CITY.
Conscious and playful combination of elements and trends from both worlds stands on shared foundations - the need for our environment to be LIVABLE, HUMAN oriented, SUSTAINABLE and SMART.

The high DENSITY reflects both the liveliness and the significance of this space for the whole Shizuoka. The RICH PROGRAM focuses on providing life 24/7 enabled by multi-level open spaces that grows out from the train station and guides fluxes.
The hierarchic structure of qualitative open spaces attaches to a new climate street along the railway, the "GREEN-BLUE TŌKAIDŌ*" - a new climate resilient identity of the historical road. It represents an attractive and comfortable soft mobility network of connections that have the potential to grow through the city.

Can Higashi-Shizuoka become a restart in the URBAN EVOLUTION of Shizuoka? Our exploration continues in 2025!

*The Tōkaidō road (東海道), which roughly means "eastern sea route," was the most important of the Five Routes of the Edo period in Japan, connecting Kyoto to the de facto capital of Japan at Edo (modern-day Tokyo).

19/12/2024

#2025

19/12/2024