Suys completed his architectural education in Paris, where he studied under Charles Percier and won the Prix de Rome in 1812.

From 1825 onwards, Suys was employed on a series of royal commissions in Brussels, a city that, together with The Hague in the province of Holland, had been given the title of capital of the new established kingdom.

Important creations in Brussels include the great conservatory of the Botanical Garden, which is noted for its innovative use of iron and glass construction, as well as the Royal Palace.

Suys continued to carry out commissions in the Netherlands after the revolution such as the Roman Catholic, Mozes and Aaron Church in Amsterdam, built between 1831 and 1847.

From 1835 to 1861 Suys was a professor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, where he taught almost every important Belgian architect of the younger generation such as Hendrik Beyaert, Joseph Poelaert and Alphonse Balat.