Great walls

Belgian architect Glenn Sestig's latest project is a rural retreat and private gallery featuring an award-winning concrete construction

- ELLIE STATHAKI

The Pringiers family seems to have an affinity for minimalist concrete. The Belgian clan of entrepreneurs and art collectors is spread across several countries in two continents (Europe and Asia), with the parents, industrialist Pierre Pringiers and artist Saskia Pintelon, based in Sri Lanka since 1981. Pintelon’s studio is famously located within a specially commissioned Tadao Ando-designed house, nestled on a cliff edge in the southern part of the country. Between them, the couple and their three grown children – two sons, Jacob and Koenraad, and one daughter, Isolde – own a collection of design-led homes across the world, by architects such as Tadao Ando and Shigeru Ban. One thing that three of these have in common is their elegant contemporary minimalism. Another element they share is their architect, Belgian Glenn Sestig, who, hailing from the same part of the country as the Pringiers family, has known them for years.