On the occasion of the double exhibition Caring Architecture the Flanders Architecture Institute organizes a series of excursions and dialogues on how designers can take care of the future of our planet. Register now if you want to join us during these reflective moments.
Excursions and dialogues
As a part of the discursive programme, VAi and Newrope organise three excursions to the projects in Care for Space for Care each time followed by a dialogue between the architects, excursionists and Newrope. The first excursion goes to the observation tower in Negenoord, a project of De Gouden Liniaal Architecten, Ecotron of noAarchitecten and ends at Z33 a project of francesca torzo architetto. Saskia van Stein, the newly appointed director of the International Architecture Biennale in Rotterdam (IABR), Seppe De Blust and Michiel van Iersel from Newrope will join the excursions and the dialogue.
Program
- 9.30 am Boarding bus in the station of Hasselt
- 10 am Departure
- 11 am Walk in nature reserve Negenoord to watch tower with architects Gouden Liniaal Architecten
- 12 am Lunch
- 1 pm Visit to Ecotron with architects of NoAarchitecten
- 3.30 pm Tour in Z33 by architects of Francesca Torzo Architects
- 5 pm Dialogue in Z33: go in conversation with Saskia van Stein, Seppe De Blust and Michiel van Iersel
- 6.30 pm End
You can register separately for excursion and/or debate.
More practical information will follow after registration.
Interview Jan Thys (architect Uitkijktoren Negenoord )
PROJECT
Observation tower Negenoord - De Gouden Liniaal Architecten
On an artificial mound in a landscape that was once quarried for gravel, a 12-metre observation tower looms over the rural vistas. It has been constructed using the rammed earth technique. The client wished to create a place in this new nature reserve that fosters meaningful relationships with the surroundings: allowing people to feel as though they are in the middle of nowhere, for example, while still being within walking distance from the inhabited world.
More on Uitkijktoren Negenoord in the buildings database
PROJECT
Onderzoekscentrum Ecotron - noAarchitecten
The technological requirements for the simultaneous maintenance of twelve different ecosystem atmospheres are extremely stringent. NoAarchitecten opted for a spatial structure that conforms to the rational organisation of the technical equipment in the building.
More on Ecotron in the buildings databaseInterview Kurt Geraerts (building manager Z33)
PROJECT
Z33 - Huis voor Actuele Kunst - Francesca Torzo
While it’s true that Torzo links the arts centre to the city, at the same time she seeks introversion and seclusion. Behind a totally blank wall she has created for Z33 a world of its own from which the economics of building practices are excluded, where the experience of art and craftsmanship come to the fore and the architecture becomes an experience full of contrasts. This makes this project a refreshing and in places uncompromising enrichment of Belgian building culture.
Who cares? Join the conversation!
In addition to the exhibition Care For Space For Care, VAi collaborated with Newrope Chair of Architecture & Urban Transformation to organise a discursive programme. As an interdisciplinary research group that is part of the architecture department of ETH Zurich, Newrope will extend the themes of the exhibition, interdependencies, maintenance, post-humanism, by asking questions in the format of postcards. The main question “Who cares?” sets of a self-reflective insight of what role you see for design(ers) in taking care of the world around us. Together Newrope and VAi wonders what perspective each individual has on this particular idea on caring architecture.
The questions on postcards will be the starting point of the dialogue at the end of each excursion. They feed into the conversation in the sense that they help formulate critical questions for the architects of the exhibited projects. The aim is to experience first-hand what is framed as caring architecture in the scope of this exhibition and to critically engage both with the projects and the exhibition itself. The possible outcomes of the discursive programme are also showcased in the reflective space at the end of the exhibition hall as an added layer to knowledge sharing.
Care for Space for Care.
Scenes from Flanders and Brussels
How can architecture take care of the planet and its inhabitants? In addition to the Critical Care exhibition Care for Space for Care explores how architecture in Flanders and Brussels interprets the concept of care. Nine contemporary projects reflect on three themes: interdependence, maintenance and posthumanism.
more about the exhibitionPractical
- DATE:
20.08.2022
- LANGUAGE:
English/Dutch
- START EXCURSION:
10 am
- PRICE EXCURSION:
€12
- LOCATION EXCURSION:
Limburg (more information follows)
- HOUR DEBATE:
5 pm
- ENTRANCE DEBATE:
free, but you need to book a free ticket
- LOCATION DEBATE:
Z33 - Huis voor Actuele Kunst, Design & Architectuur
Bonnefantenstraat 1, 3500 Hasselt - PRODUCTION:
Flanders Architecture institute and Newrope
- WITH SUPPORT OF:
the Flemish Community
- OTHER DATES:
If you cannot afford the ticket for the excursions please contact us with a short note of interest via email to Elise Verstraete: elise.verstraete@vai.be
Caring Architecture
In 2022 the theme for the architecture programme is care. With this broad theme, the Flanders Architecture Institute and De Singel are focusing on the impact of care on the built environment. Care is about nurturing, maintaining and securing for the future. Architecture that cares sets itself apart due to its empathy for the context, the users and the makers. Caring architecture pays attention to the long term effects of its creation and existence, and is critical with regard to human activity on the planet.