Maarten Van Severen started out studying architecture in Ghent, designing furniture from 1986 onward.
The son of an abstract painter, Maarten Van Severen chose to study architecture at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Ghent).
Van Severen's first piece, a long and slender steel table, has since been recreated as an aluminum model, which has been further refined over the years.
Van Severen was also frequently commissioned as a decorator and furniture designer for private residence projects, teamed with Rem Koolhaas.
From 1997 onward, he had been involved in industrial production for Target Lighting (U-Line lamp), Obumex (kitchen), Vitra (chair .03), Edra (Blue Bench), BULO (Schraag), among others.