Sonian Wood Coop

Last chance to see our FORE·S·T Exhibition

After the true celebration of the new gallery section of Corpus for the FORE·S·T exhibition, we are approaching the end of our currating time there and must free the space for upcoming events.

In this context, we invite you to enjoy the few days left to experience the wooden and written atmosphere of FORE·S·T.

End of the exhibition on thursday 6th May .bookshop
83, rue A. Diderich.

Photo credit: Nathan Magnin, Lilou Wolff
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FORE·S·T EXPO RECAP

Three weeks ago, Corpus gallery section opened — Florence Marchal's new bookshop — and celebrated its first night with the vernissage of the FORE·S·T exhibition.

A blend of wood shaped by craft and pages shaped by thought.
Activated by people who shared the space between them.

It was a joy to welcome so many of you into this corner where woodwork met words. Thanks to everyone who came with curiosity, stayed for the stories, and left with a little sawdust on the soul.

Photo credit: Nathan Magnin, Lilou Wolff
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FABRICE SAMYN

We are delighted to have the opportunity to showcase the work of Fabrice Samyn in our upcoming FORE-S-T exhibition at CORPUS.

Belgian interdisciplinary artist whose work unfolds at the intersection of painting, sculpture, installation and performance. Drawing from art history, philosophy and the natural sciences, his practice interrogates the ontological conditions that bind human and non-human forms of existence.

Exhibited works engage with materials transformed by animals and insects — beavers, xylophagous organisms — through processes that displace authorship and challenge the stability of form.

These collaborations foreground a field of relations in which agency is distributed, and where the artwork emerges as the site of negotiation between living systems, matter and time.

Within this expanded ecology, Samyn’s work articulates a critical reflection on temporality — not as a linear measure, but as a plurality of rhythms shaped by interspecies encounters. His practice thus opens a space in which cohabitation becomes both a material condition and a speculative horizon.

Photo by Fabrice Samyn

The Stool L18, designed by Bento Architecture, will be among the pieces presented during our upcomaing FORE·S·T exhibition.

Bento is an architectural practice that places material experimentation at the heart of its work. Their approach explores how living matter can challenge the sustainability of current production methods and reshape the way we inhabit our surroundings. Driven by this inquiry, Bento's architects seek to push beyond convention, bridging architecture, art and design through direct engagement with the materials themselves.

We invite you to discover the intriguing perspectives that emerge from the encounter between local hardwood and mycelium.

Photo by Nathan Magnin

NEW COLLABORATION

From scrap to bespoke. We are pleased to announce our latest collaboration with artist and designer Rikkert Paauw, presented as part of the inaugural exhibition FORE·S·T at CORPUS.

The new piece titled Librarian stands at the meeting point of two harvests. The first unfolds within Sonian's workshop, where every operation on Sonian Forest beech leaves behind offcuts and remnants. The second takes place on the streets of Brussels, among pieces of furniture abandoned on the pavement. Rikkert Paauw brings these two sources together and, through precise composition, reveals the narrative potential held within materials that would otherwise be overlooked.

The piece embodies a conviction we share: that every fragment of a noble material deserves a second life. Each element, whether a beech offcut from the workshop floor or a reclaimed drawer front, carries its own history into the assembly.
Come see Librarian at the opening of CORPUS on 15 April.
Material: Beechwood (Fagus sylvatica), PVC, marquetry, metal

Photo: Nathan Magnin

NEW BOOKSHOP & GALLERY

In the heart of Forest, a long-imagined space finally opens its doors. Shaped and reshaped over time, it has become a bookshop-gallery unlike any other.

On one side, CORPUS features a curated selection of international publications on architecture, urbanism, landscape, design and applied arts, in dialogue with sociology, critical theory, philosophy, literature and ecology.

On the other, CORPUS is a gallery space hosting installations by artists and makers, student works, and book presentations.

For its inaugural exhibition, CORPUS has invited Sonian to present FORE·S·T, an exploration of our universe rooted in the wood of the Sonian Forest.

Enthusiasts, curious minds, experts, flâneurs: come discover Brussels' newest cultural destination. We look forward to welcoming you on 15 April for the gallery's opening.

Design & text by Florence Marchal
Photo credit: Nathan Magnin

IN THE WORKSHOP

Final stretch of crafting in our workshop, preparing the furniture for the opening of .bookshop and starting the selection of pieces to be shown at the FORE·S·T exhibition.

Design of the side table: Atelier365/Laura Greindl
Design of the chair: Lionel Jadot
Photo credit: Nathan Magnin

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FORE·S·T

On Wednesday 15 April, we are celebrating the opening of Corpus, a new bookshop presented by Florence Marchal, which will also host the vernissage of FORE·S·T, an exhibition curated by Sonian.

Corpus is a carefully curated bookshop specialising in architecture, design, craft, urbanism, landscape, fashion, visual culture and beyond: a new destination in Brussels for those who draw inspiration from the written word.

FORE·S·T traces the story of Sonian's woodwork from its origins in the forest to its final form crafted in our workshop. The show explores the journey through collaborations, the material, and the hands that shape it. It is a reflective tour showcasing the resources that quietly influence our everyday work.

Photo credit: Nathan Magnin
Illustration by Mateo Berhault

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FINE FLEUR

Sonian is part of the 2026 edition of Private Choice "Fine Fleur."

On show: a piece designed by Bento Architecture, crafted from mycelium and beech wood sourced in the Sonian Forest.

From 8 to 12 April at Le Grand Tour — 123, rue de Turenne, Paris 3e.

You are warmly invited to visit.

Photos: Théo Baulig

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A forest’s patience, handcrafted precision, a designer’s vision — all meeting here, in the new Materiatek by .studio. 🌿

At the centre: our handcrafted beech tables, made from hardwood of the Sonian Forest. Built to support ideas, projects, and the slow rhythm of craftsmeaship.

🪵 Sonian builds solid wood tables and countertops that connect people and materials with place.