Educated at the Howest School of Applied Architecture and the Sint-Lucas School of Architecture and Arts, with forays to the University of Liechtenstein and the University of Cincinnati, Axel Clissen has spent time at the offices of Architects in Motion and Wim Goes Architectuur.
Rather than launch himself off into exotic and elaborate forms, Axels work focuses closely on more practical complexities, such as public living spaces and human interaction. Determined to discover the atmosphere of each place, he landed himself a job at Bernard Tschumi Architects during his studies. Intrigued by the relation between architecture and nature, Axel strongly believes that 'architecture should represent the culture of its time, seen through the eyes of the architect'.
After graduating cum laude in 2009, he was picked up by Robbrecht en Daem Architects, where he worked on the re-development of the city center of Ghent and on the masterplan 'Nieuw Zuid' in Antwerp, while completing his training under the mentorship of Paul Robbrecht. Currently, Axel is working on a wide range of independent projects. Next to his work in practice, he accepted a guest professor's position at the Howest School of Applied Architecture, teaching design studio.
Besides his professional and academic work, he was asked to produce the Belgian entry for the 13th International Venice Architecture Biennale in 2012. Since then he combines his work as an architect with a position as a project manager at the Flemish Architecture Institute.
In 2011, Axel was chosen as the laureate for the Godecharle Prize for Architecture, a prestigious Belgian award for architects and artists.