Flanders Architecture Institute (VAi) is organising a workshops series and lecture with a pop-up exhibition Intersections: Invisible in Architecture. The first workshop in this series is about the social and environmental costs of construction, (migrant) labour conditions and extraction practices. Moderated by Ken De Cooman (BC Architects & Studies) the workshop will take place in Globe Aroma, Brussels on 21 March 2023, at 18.30.
Exploring care in architecture for its 2022-2023 season, Flanders Architecture Institute (VAi) is organising a workshops series and lecture with a pop-up exhibition Intersections: Invisible in Architecture. Central to this thought-provoking series co-curated by Hülya Ertas and Luce Beeckmans is the question: “Who has been marginalized by / silenced in the architectural production?” In the series Intersections: Invisible in Architecture, we ambition to collectively discuss those groups of people, often at the intersection of class, race and gender, that are essential for the architectural production, but that are nonetheless marginalised or forgotten by it. Simulteanously, we will discuss what the consequences of these processes of precarization, marginalization and silencing are for the discipline and practice of architecture. Hence, in a decolonial spirit, we will touch upon those issues which today’s architectural production does not see or perhaps does not want to see.
The first workshop in this series is about the social and environmental costs of construction, (migrant) labour conditions and extraction practices. It is moderated by Ken De Cooman (BC Architects & Studies).
Ken De Cooman is co-founder of BC Architects & Studies and BC Materials. With these companies, BC starts from architecture, over research and expertise and experiment, towards material production and contracting. As a hybrid office, BC is manoeuvring the boundaries of all these disciplines in a doers manner. Ken De Cooman holds a master's in philosophy and architecture and is a candidate in psychology. He has published reflections in OASE and Domus; has (guest) taught at KULeuven, ULB-LaCambre, ETH Zurich and the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City development.
See also
Workshop 24.04.2023 Repositioning architecture culture from the margins
Workshop 02.05.2023 Precarious work in architecture
Pop-up exhibition 17.05-02.07 2023 Intersections: Invisible in Architecture
We ask all the workshop participants to send in a copyright free image when registering to the event. This can be a photo taken by you, a note, a found image. The flow of the workshops will be organised around these images. We hope they will evoke our visual imagination and encourage people to share their thoughts.
Our gatherings will take place in the safe space of Globe Aroma where people are free to express or not express themselves in the way they choose. The language will be determined by the participants, when necessary, we believe whisper translations will happen voluntarily. We foresee a maximum of 60 people joining each workshop, hopefully, some of whom join more than one session. Participation in the workshops is free and we will share food and drinks during the workshops.
In collaboration with illustrator Aya Akbib, the discussions will be visually narrated, respecting anonymity and authorship. The visual narrations together with the image galleries collectively built up throughout the workshops will be exhibited in De Singel from 17 May till 02 July 2023.
21.03.2023
6.30pm
Globe Aroma
Moutstraat 26, 1000 Brussels
free, but registration is necessary
Vlaams Architectuurinstituut
