Henry Lacoste was born in Tournai. He studied classical humanities in Tournai and, after a year of philosophy in Lille, earned his baccalaureate there in 1902.
His father ran a workshop where metal was worked in all its forms: forging, locksmithing, coppersmithing, etc.
The Lacoste company had been located on Quai Dumon, directly opposite the Pont de Fer (Iron Bridge), since 1910.
From a very young age, he discovered there the desire to translate the expression of thought into tangible form. He was fortunate enough to see his first drawings executed before his very eyes in his father's workshop.
In 1904, he entered the studio of Ernest Acker at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels.
He graduated in 1908, but his thirst for knowledge remained unquenched. He left for Paris where he enrolled in G. Umbdenstoek's studio to prepare for the entrance exam to the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts.
He graduated from the French government in 1913.
On May 7, 1921, he married Claire Carbonnelle in Tournai, which led him to undertake several projects for the Carbonnelle Brewery.
Between 1924 and 1926, he built the Saint Aybert Church in Bléharies.
In 1935, near the Museum of Fine Arts in Tournai, he designed his famous Maison Pion, which can be seen as a kind of illustration of all his artistic explorations. The Maison Pion is a highly original work in which the architect establishes a close dialogue between history and contemporary creation.
He died on April 28, 1968, in Brussels.
