Philippe Neerman

Philippe Neerman (1930–2011) was a Belgian industrial designer and President of Industrial Design Planning Office Philippe Neerman & Co. N.V.\S.A. He was known for his application of ergonomics in public transportation systems and his work on major projects such as the Royal Library of Belgium, the Royal Castle of Laeken, and the Royal Palace of Brussels. He also participated in the international Design Biennale Interieur in Courtray, Belgium. He mainly focused on transportation and made designs for metros and trams including the Euro Tram, the Brussels Metro, and the Metro in Barcelona. His work has been incorporated into a diverse collection of museums, including the Ghent Design Museum.
Early life.
Neerman was born in 1930 in the Belgian Congo to a Belgian father and a French mother. He grew up in Brussels in an artistic family but made many trips to France during his childhood, including during the World War II era. In Ghent, Belgium, he studied interior design, furniture design and management.
Career.
Neerman graduated from L'École de la Cambre in 1953. After his studies, Neerman moved to Kortrijk, where he worked for a company named De Coene, a Belgian art decore and design firm. He was involved with setting up the Brussels Design Centre after beginning his work with De Coene and claims to be the originator of the Centre. As he indicated himself in the mid-1950s several fellow designers were won over to the goal of having a Brussels-based DC. During the end of his career at De Coene, he designed the "Philips Chair" for the company's home office in Eindhoven. He was commissioned in 1955 by the Belgian Ministry of Economic Affairs to set up the Institute of Industrial Aesthetics and the Design Centre.
Neerman created his own company in 1967 and was among the first European industrial designers to adapt ergonomic studies to the design of public transportation while working on projects such as the Metro of Brussels, and the Metro of Lyons & Marseille. After working on numerous transportation system projects, he began to concentrate on different transportation systems such as buses, trains, people movers, and tramways. During that time, he also focused on interior and furniture design for different buildings.
Neerman was a professor at the National Higher Institute of Architecture and Urbanism in Antwerp until 1995.
Publications.
Neerman's works have been incorporated in different publications such as journals and books, including the le Soir, Tram, and Bouwen voor de natie.
Personal life.
Neerman married Denise Kinet in 1952 and had 2 sons, Olivier Neerman and Johan Neerman. Johan took over the family business in 1999.