This past weekend I gave a presentation (alongside Will Brown and Easton West) at Integrated 2009, a biannual design conference that took place at deSingel Antwerpen. Integrated boasted  some truly prolific  personalities, including the likes of Stefan Sagmeister, Storm Thorgerson, Siggi Eggertsson, John L. Walters, Annelys de Vet, and many more.

My flight from Vancouver to Brussels got stretched out to 14 hours due to delays and Lufthansa’s seating didn’t allow for anything I would call “sleep”, so I was a wee bit haggered upon arrival. The following day, I was able to pop in and catch a few bits from different presenters, but due to the hectic nature of my schedule was only able to watch Erik Kessels’ presentation in its entirety. Kessels, co-founder of the Amsterdam-based agency KesselsKramer, was hilarious as always, check out their work for the The Hans Brinker Budget Hotel if you’re not familiar.

After the conference concluded there was an after-party at Petrol, a club located in the docklands on the outskirts of Antwerp. A mile’s walk from the closest tram station, Petrol seems like a sick joke at first glance, until you find the entrance, and then it’s all gravy. We partied until 5am, then had some chicken and waffles on the way back to the hotel, at which point I was at last able to catch up on some much-needed shut eye. Apart from drinking way too many vodka-tonics at the after-party, my only regret was not being able to attend more of the presentations. I’ll be looking forward to see what deSingel/Sint Lucas Antwerpen have planned for 2010.

-DH