3D Variel modules in precast concrete in Belgium (1969-1981): the work of Fritz Stucky and Willy Van Der Meeren

In the post-war period many prefabricated systems for 3D building units were developed, but only few were successful on an international level. The Variel system, developed by the Swiss architect Fritz Stucky, was serial produced in large quantities all over the world. In Belgium, Eternit became a licensee of Variel in 1970 and soon afterwards the first Belgian Variel factory was built in Seilles. By the 1980s the market for prefabricated 3D units in concrete collapsed and also in Belgium Variel units were no longer fabricated. This paper goes into the technical evolution of the prefabricated Variel units built and designed in the 1970s and 1980s in Belgium by studying five designs of the Belgian architect Willy Van Der Meeren. During that period the span of the modules increased, the construction of the concrete slabs changed and the composition of walls, floors and roofs evolved to comply with new standards.