'I graduated as a master in graphic design from Sint-Lucas in Ghent. In a former life, I was an art director in Brussels advertising agencies and in 1998, when the internet was still in its infancy, I founded my own web design agency in Ghent. A very fun period. Everything was still a bit experimental at that time. Very nice, such a completely new world opened up for us," Peter says enthusiastically.
The birth of Mr Frank
A decade later, Peter started a new study. This time he immersed himself in photography and became a documentary photographer. In the early 2020s, residential and reportage photography was added. I happened to read an article about Robert Frank, the top American photographer who had just died at the time. At that name, a light snapped on for me: the link with photography, my long-standing fascination with the photographer.... The picture was right, and so I had suddenly found my pseudonym as an interior photographer,' Peter explains. 'So then my third or fourth career started, I've already lost count a bit.'
From fermette to art
However, Peter's love for contemporary architecture did not come from an early age. 'I grew up in a Kortrijk fermette,' he says with a wink. 'But I have always had a certain fascination for object and art, architecture and design, a fascination that gradually only increased. Mind you, my mother decorated our house herself, and she did so with great feeling. Only it was totally not my taste, so that clashed from time to time. It wasn't until art school that a very different kind of seed was planted and I was given a background that I didn't immediately find at home.'
An ode to Eddy
'After years of living in Ghent, Antwerp and Borgerhout, we moved to Schilde a few years ago. And it didn't become just any house. The family lives in the last fully finished house of architect Eddy François, who sadly passed away in 2014.
'It was a shock when Eddy died. The last two years of his life we had quite a good relationship, all the more reason why I always want to keep this house in honour. That's why we also chose to work with B-bis Architects for the later construction of our swimming pond, because Hanne, Eddy's former assistant, worked on that team at the time. At every step we had in the back of our minds: what would Eddy have thought of it? We were also looking for an element to add something crazy. Eddy would have made a crazy tap, so we added a fountain with a tube in a semi-circle in corten steel to the pond, an ode to our great architect.'
Super functional living
'I think the fantastic thing about this house is that every square metre is functional. In terms of surface area, it is not very big. We very consciously chose to design a super functional house with a limited number of square metres, but not to skimp on solid materials and finishing. So that's why each space does have its charms, depending on the time of day. I enjoy being in the garden as much as in the shower as much as in my bed. There is not one place here where you say, I never actually come there now. Everything is connected, thought out and relatively compact.'
'When we briefed our architect, we also never said we wanted that particular style or that kind of windows. We chose Eddy precisely because of what he had already done, and we wanted to go completely with his flow. The only thing we did do was think out a programme beforehand. For that, we thought about all sorts of things: how many bedrooms we needed, what they should be connected to, whether we wanted to live at the front or the back.... In short, an overview of the house's facilities. But everything that was creativity, or light or design, we were happy to leave to the master himself.'
Immodôme and Mr. Frank
'I had been following Immodôme for some time and when I started Mr Frank, I immediately saw a concrete link like our passion for architecture and aesthetics, so I got in touch! Working for Immodôme is always fun. Moreover, you feel that there is a vision behind it and it is great fun to see that ball rolling. As such, it is the only real estate agency I work for or want to work for.' (Laughs.)
Falling in love with a house
'Whether I photograph for Immodôme or for an interior design magazine, whether a house is small or majestic, I always try to fall a little in love with the house I photograph. I always want to tell a story about the house, communicate through my photography. Even in the most modest houses, I see things that make me think: oh, that's nice. It is the combination of how people live and how they are in life that fascinates me. After all, it is not always about the architecture; who lives somewhere is at least as important. You really don't have to look far to find interesting people and fascinating stories. And those fleeting encounters? I actually enjoy them, I like trying to break the ice with people and apparently I am also rather good at small talk,' Peter says. 'That's where the documentary photography particle comes lurking around the corner again.'
Want to know more about Mr Frank? Take a look at his website.
